All in Good Time
by engineergirl86
Summary: AU. Bethyl. Beth gets a new job as a preschool teacher in a small country town. Daryl works as a mechanic and has to pick his nephew up from preschool while Merle is in jail.
1. May

**Howdy! Welcome to my Bethyl AU. It will be approximately 7 to 12 chapters. I have the first 5 planned out already. Chapters will be broken into months, and POV will be third person limited alternating between our two love birds, ladies first, so we will start with Beth. This will be a slow burn, so hang in there. I'm guessing probably 40 to 60k words by the time I am done. Chapters will vary in length. I was wanting to make this a one-shot but my muse decided to punch me in the face and informed me that it would be much longer. **

**Setting: Beth takes a job at a preschool in a small and poor country town. Daryl's nephew attends the preschool, and he has to pick his nephew up every afternoon because the boy's mother, Linda (OC) works afternoons and Merle, his father, is in prison.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TWD or any of the characters.**

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><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 1: May_

-oOo-

"_It's unclear now what we intend. We're alone in our own world. You don't wanna be my boyfriend, and I don't wanna be your girl, and that, that's a relief . . ."_

_-Emily Kinney_ "Be Good"

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><p>Beth Greene was having a fantastic week. She'd arrived back home at her daddy's farm three days ago after graduating from college with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She'd always loved children, and it had been her dream for years to be the best preschool teacher in Georgia, and she meant to do that by loving the children that needed it most. She'd never told her parents, Maggie, or Shawn, but she wanted to work with children who had the worst of home lives. Ones who didn't get enough to eat on the weekends or weren't loved or cared for like they should be. She'd confided this to her advisor, sweet Mrs. Mason, and the aged lady had smiled knowingly and told her she wasn't the least bit surprised. Beth had a bigger heart than any other student she'd had the privilege of advising. She'd even attended the same church as Mrs. Mason during her time in college, and had come to see her as a grandmotherly figure. The elderly lady had helped her choose three preschools that were hiring, known for having at-risk children, and Beth had sent in her resumes and applications with much excitement. She was ready to make a difference in the lives of these children. And she'd just received a phone call an hour ago from the one in Smithville, GA, southwest of Atlanta off of 85 offering her a position as the teacher of their 2 and 3 year olds' class. She'd immediately accepted and after hanging up, she jumped up and down excitedly squealing right there in the middle of the co-op, too excited to put it in to words for her step-brother, but he knew.<p>

"Got the job huh?" he said with his big smile, "well, help me get this feed loaded up in the truck an' we'll get home and tell 'em the good news!"

-o-oOo-o-

Five days later Beth and Shawn drove up to Smithville to find an apartment for Beth. It didn't take long because the tiny country town only had four different complexes, and all four were quite small and located in the same general area on the south side of the two-light town. One was a bit further out and didn't seem to be in the best condition, so they focused on the other three. Half an hour later they were unloading the little blue couch and pinewood coffee table out of the back of Shawn's truck and moving them into an adorable little brick complex. Apartment C was recently vacated because the young married couple living there were expecting and wanted to move to a house.

After Beth had the opportunity to explore the quaint little one bedroom apartment she and Shawn grabbed some lunch at the Diner and he dropped her off at the preschool. He was going to drive around and see what the area was like. He and her mamma were like that; they both loved to drive around and see the sights. She knew she had plenty of time to do her paperwork and meet the children at the preschool, but staying all day wasn't a good idea, because they still had the two and a half hour ride home.

The preschool, Cradle to Crayons Preschool was the official name, was pretty much what Beth expected. It was partially government funded, meaning that there was enough money to keep everything pretty well to code, but nothing extra to bring in nice new toys or playground equipment for the children. She knew her paycheck was going to be small, but money was never really an important thing to Beth Greene. The preschool was minimally staffed, just meeting regulations, which was one reason they had hired her. They were required to have a head teacher with an early childhood education degree in each of the four age group classes and an assistant teacher who was only required to have work experience. The classes were Infants, Toddlers, 2 and 3 year olds, and 4 and 5 year olds.

There were some unfortunate circumstances that lead to the termination of the employment of the woman who had previously held the position she was hired into, and though they weren't permitted to tell Beth exactly what happened, she had her theory. She was fairly certain the woman had brought drugs to work and was using them in the bathroom rather than watching the children. There had been an improper adult to child ratio on the playground and a child had gotten injured, or at least this is what she'd gathered from the obviously gossipy Mary, who was the assistant teacher for her 2 and 3 year old class. Mary was in her late fifties, and had worked in child care all of her life but didn't have a degree, so she wasn't able to procure a promotion to the degree required position of teacher. Beth detected a hint of bitterness on the subject, and thought it best avoided. She hoped Mary would come to accept her as it would be just the two of them with fourteen children most days and she preferred to have an air of solidarity rather than dissension. They also had Amy sometimes whose title was Daycare Worker and she helped out in all of the classrooms and drifted to where she was needed most. Beth had also heard that they were in the process of hiring another Daycare Worker, Karen. Daycare Worker was the position that fell below Assistant Teacher. Amy was a year younger than Beth, and Beth hoped they would become fast friends. She'd also met the teacher of the 4 and 5 year old classroom, her name was Lori Grimes, and Beth took an instant liking to the slightly older woman. She seemed to genuinely care about the children, and didn't have the apathetic, 'just another day at the office' look on her face that plagued so many of her new co-workers. Also, Lori didn't look at her spitefully because of her college degree, because she had the same one. Carol was the kind lady who worked in the kitchen, and Sasha was the assistant director. Sasha was apparently the one behind the push to hire another Daycare Worker, as Karen was her brother's girlfriend. Beth took an instant liking to Sasha, and hoped that they did indeed decide to hire Karen. The director's name was Kris, and apparently she was out for the day. Beth was able to detect Sasha's distaste for her boss immediately. There was likely to be a good amount more to this that she hoped to discover soon. These were all of the workers she met today. Most of her time there she wanted to dedicate to spending with the fourteen precious children that she was to take care of and love on for the span of their time in her classroom.

Nine of them were boys, five were girls, some rough and rowdy, some quiet and shy, some excited to meet her, others apprehensive. No two were remotely similar, and she was so excited to get to know each child and do her very best to improve their lives, whatever that might mean. Some of the children were so small and skinny she was certain they weren't eating enough, worn and torn clothing and slender limbs. Poverty knew no bounds or mercies, even when it came to children. She fought back tears and reminded herself that this was what she wanted. She was going to do something about it in these little lives. One of the children, though, surprised her. He was quiet and reserved and had arguably the rattiest clothing of the lot, but there was nothing about him that looked neglected or underfed. It just seemed like his caretakers couldn't afford new clothing for him. She was glad at least that they seemed to have made feeding him a precedent.

Beth had all of the children come to the circle rug and introduce themselves to her. She sat down, tucking her legs under her and sitting on her calves, letting her pink and blue floral skirt fan out in front of her. She had her hair in a side ponytail and a white fitted shirt under a light denim jacket. "I'm Miss Beth, I'm going to be your new teacher next Monday, and I am so excited about getting to meet you all! I want us to go around the circle and say our names and favorite color, then I'm going to read you a book while we eat chocolate chip cookies that I brought. Sound fun?" Many of the children cheered at this. "I'll start. I'm Miss Beth and my favorite color is yellow." She looked to the little girl on her left and said, "go ahead, what's your name?"

"Um, Lacy. . . I like your hair!"

"I like your flower skirt!" another girl sang out from across the rug.

"Well thank you both! Lacy what is your favorite color?"

"Pink!"

"Pink is a very pretty color." She smiled at the little girl and then looked to the shy boy with the torn clothes, reluctantly sitting next to the little girl; Mary had insisted he join them despite his protests.

"What's your name?" She asked him sweetly.

"Nuh-uh I aint playin' this."

"His name is Jeremy, Jeremy Dixon," said another child.

"Jeremy what's your favorite color?"

"Ain't got one!"

"Well why not? There are so many wonderful colors. Do you like red like fire trucks or blue like the sky?"

"Oh! I love fire trucks!" a tiny boy across the carpet yelled. Jeremy just shook his head.

"Why don't you have a favorite color Jeremy?"

"Cause Uncle Daryl said he ain't got one, so I ain't either!"

-o-oOo-o-

Two weeks' time had passed since graduation; that was unfortunately all she'd been able to spend with her family back at the farm before moving to Smithville. However, the excitement of her promising new career had served as a balm for being separated from Shawn, Mamma, and Daddy after only being back with them two weeks. Maggie, however, would be much closer, considering she was working in Atlanta. She'd moved there to be closer to her fiancé Glenn, who was well on the way to owning his own pizza delivery joint. The opportunity to be closer to Maggie had been a huge factor in taking the Smithville job before even hearing back from the others. The older Greene girl was missing the small town farm life, but loved Glenn too much to leave the big city, and home was so far away it wasn't economical for her to come home more than once a month. Beth knew that Maggie would love coming to visit her, as Smithville was a small country town with a lot of farms. The sisters would finally be able to spend a good amount of time together. It'd been since Maggie was in college that they'd been able to spend any extended amount of time together, and really that was only in Maggie's school breaks. With Smithville only a half hour drive from the big city, the two could have the opportunity to be close again.

Beth pulled her car into the apartment complex parking lot and hopped out, excited to see Maggie and Glenn already there sitting in Glenn's SUV waiting for her. She embraced both of them and the three got to work putting Beth's little cozy apartment together. This was the last load, all her last minute things from the farm. She and Shawn had brought up the last of her furniture yesterday in his truck with the trailer attached, and she'd slept on the floor back at the farm last night in a pile of blankets Mamma had ready for her when the two got home. It had been strange seeing her room with most everything gone. She'd gotten a good night's sleep, and driven her car up this morning on the two and a half hour drive. That would be three times in the last day and a half she'd made the drive and it began to make perfect sense why Maggie didn't make the trip too often.

The day passed rather quickly and she and Maggie unpacked boxes and decorated to make her space cute and inviting. Glenn helped some, but it was quickly determined that he hadn't missed his calling for interior decorator. Nonetheless, by the time the evening rolled around Beth's apartment was a comfy southern country chic oasis.

"It's real cute Beth, looks just like ya," Maggie grinned looking around at the place.

"I love it, and I'm glad to be done, work starts Monday."

"Nervous?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah, I reckon I am, but excited too," Beth confessed.

-o-oOo-o-

"Jeremy Dixon, it's very nice to see you again."

Blue eyes peered out at her from behind a tall brunette woman's leg. "Go on now," the boy's mother said, firm and impatient, but not unkind. The shy little boy clung tighter to his mother, and Beth knelt down in front of him.

"We're going to have lots of fun together today Jeremy. Remember last week when I came and visited during story time and we shared our names and favorite colors and I read _The Quiltmaker's Gift_ to you and all of your friends while we had cookies?"

When the shy child didn't say anything Beth walked over to where Tommy was playing with the toy cars and sat down beside the tiny blonde two year old. She looked back to Jeremy, he was fairly tall for a three year old and had light brown hair, his clothes today looked about the same as they had last week, just old and worn, likely hand-me-downs from a family whose children didn't have very many sets of clothes, so things wore out quickly. The boy's mother, Linda, ruffled his hair and started to walk out when he let out a cry and grabbed onto her leg. "Mamma don't go!"

"Jeremy don't you want to play with the cars with me and Tommy?"

He looked for a second then looked back up at his mom as tears welled in his eyes.

"Uncle Daryl will pick you up buddy, you know I gotta go to work." She kissed him on top of his head and gently but firmly dislodged him from clinging to her. He seemed to calm a bit when she mentioned his uncle, and he let her go without much more difficulty. Beth knew it was because she was new and the children weren't accustomed to her yet, so she gave them time without crowding too much as they came in. Jeremy slowly meandered over to where she sat with Tommy and the cars on the carpet while Mary played with a few other children by the window.

Beth pulled the tiny blonde two year old into her lap and handed him a car. "Zooom!" he guided the car through the air down her arm and onto the carpet as Jeremy joined them and picked up a little brown and red toy truck and began to play.

"Jeremy do you like trucks?"

The child nodded and pushed the toy around on the carpet, crawling behind it as he pushed it and took off towards the back of the classroom. Beth wasn't overly concerned about Jeremy, he seemed to be doing good, normal for a three year old in a preschool with a new teacher. He seemed well fed and she'd seen the display of love between himself and his mother. Mary had said his dad was locked up for drugs though and that made her feel for the poor child, but hopefully the man would get his life straightened out for his son. The real concern she had though was for Tommy, and that was why she'd focused so much on the tiny child all morning. His mother had come in this morning with him trailing slowly behind and harshly telling him to get on with it and get in that _bleeping_ classroom. The child did as she said and Beth asked her if there was some trouble, assuming something had upset the woman to say something so harsh to a two year old. That was never ok under any circumstance, so Beth had tried to show her dislike for the woman's actions in the most respectful way she could think of, but the woman had just responded "None of your damn business Barbie!" and left. Beth wasn't really bothered by what she'd said to her, or the fact that she'd stormed off before Beth even got the chance to introduce herself. What made her skin crawl was the way she treated Tommy. He hadn't even reacted, so Beth knew that this was common behavior for the woman, and the child was so skinny it scared Beth to death. She'd immediately scooped the child up in her arms and told him how excited she was to see him this morning and that they were going to have tons of fun today. Then she'd gotten out her bag of dry cereal that she was planning on eating for breakfast and given it to him, sitting down with him at the table. Beth was amazed at how quickly the child ate all of the Cheerios. She wondered if maybe he'd not gotten anything at all to eat that weekend.

Over the next hour the remainder of the children trickled in and they all ate breakfast. Some of the children were quite picky, but some of them ate like it was their only opportunity to do so, and Beth was glad the state funded preschool provided two meals per day to the children. That wasn't enough, but it was something. She was determined to find a way to feed the handful of children that she was concerned about. She knew some churches had backpack ministries for children in which each Friday the church provided the child with a nap sack full of food that didn't require refrigeration, and the food is packaged in containers that children can easily open. That would be a start for sure.

The day passed quickly, the children played inside and outside and Beth began teaching them about the letter A and the days of the week. Each week she also wanted to have a theme that started with the letter of the week, so this week she decided to teach them about apples. She would introduce the topic today and tomorrow she would bring in three different types of apples, red, yellow, and green and allow the children to choose their favorite based on taste. Wednesday they would drink apple juice and read about Jonny Appleseed, Thursday was to be about apple trees and eating applesauce, and Friday they were going to make apple pies together.

After the children woke from nap time parents slowly began trickling in, and Beth checked their IDs to the list of people allowed to pick up each child in the afternoons. Three children were picked up between three and four o'clock and seven more before five o'clock.

At ten past five Beth heard a loud motorcycle pull up in front of the daycare. Her classroom was in the front of the building with multiple windows showing the parking lot out front. Jeremy instantly jumped up and ran to the window. Beth followed him over.

Jeremy turned to look at her with a huge smile on his face "Uncle Daryl is here!" Beth returned his smile but it wasn't genuine. This man was on a motorcycle with no helmet, and was here to pick up a child. Beth wasn't very fond of the idea of children riding on motorcycles. She studied the man and the bike for a moment and her eyes fell on a small sticker near the front that depicted SS in jagged letters. Instantly she was filled with disgust for this man, and she wasn't surprised that this was the brother of a drug dealer. How could someone put a Nazi symbol on any of their belongings? This, though, this was blatant and hateful. He might as well have just put a swastika on his bike. She felt her jaw clench shut tightly and anger burned in her stomach as she pleaded with herself to be polite, rational and lady like. Going off on the guardian of one of her children was not a good way to start out her first day of work. He dismounted, arm muscles flexing in his sleeveless mechanic shirt as he leaned the bike onto the kickstand and headed for the front door of the preschool. Jeremy's smile was still huge as he ran to the door of the classroom waiting for his uncle to round the corner. Beth noted that he was a well behaving child, not sprinting out into the hallway as it was against the rules for the children to leave the classroom without an adult. She took a deep breath to calm herself as she reached the door.

The man swaggered down the hallway towards them his clothes covered in grease, black pants, boots, and a worn blue work shirt with the name "Daryl" on a patch on his chest and the sleeves cut out. Beth forced herself not to look at his ridiculously muscular biceps, and desperately fought back the blush that threatened to cover her cheeks. He was really sexy. Why did this have to happen to her? Why couldn't he be ugly? As he got closer she noted the same color of blue in his eyes as his nephew's. She forced herself to think about the motorcycle and the SS sticker and what it meant to sober herself.

"Hello, I'm Beth Greene, I'm the new teacher." She extended her hand to shake. He looked at it for a second before wiping his hand on his shirt to remove some of the grease before shaking her hand quickly and pulling away.

"Daryl Dixon," he said with a no-nonsense attitude.

"May I see your ID Mr. Dixon?"

Daryl shuffled around and pulled his wallet out and showed her his driver's license.

"Thank you."

Daryl smiled down at a beaming Jeremy who seemed to idolize the horrible man and ruffled his hair.

"Ready t' go?" he asked the child.

"Yeah!"

Beth tried. She really did, but she had all that Irish blood in her and when she got mad, she got mad, and quiet wasn't something that came along with that.

"Are you seriously going to put him on a motorcycle?"

Daryl turned back to look at her, looking surprised that she was challenging him, apparently it wasn't something that happened very often.

"Yea' reckon I am. I got 'im a kid's helmet an' seat." His words were straight forward and not harsh, but she saw the look in his eyes, the look saying that he wasn't going to take crap from her, that she was a goody-goody and didn't understand him and had no business being judgmental and poking around in his business. She assumed he'd toned his verbal response back from what he wanted to say because she's a woman or because Jeremy was listening, but she saw it in his eyes. Quickly she glanced outside and noticed the child seat and child's helmet sitting on the bike. She'd not noticed it last time because of being distracted by the SS sticker after he'd dismounted. She still wasn't overly fond of the idea of a child riding on the bike, but this was admittedly better than she'd originally thought.

"If you have a different vehicle it would be safer if you picked him up in it," she tried to be gentler this time and not enrage him with her words.

He looked at her and then turned and walked out, Jeremy happily following behind him too busy playing with a toy army man to notice the disagreement between his mechanic uncle and his new teacher.

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><p><strong>AN: Ta da! Chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed it, I know there was hardly any interactions between Beth and Daryl and I promise that will change in time. They don't like each other at first, but stuff . . . thaangs will happen and that will change, the slow burn bit.**

**Next, before Daryl fangirls flog me I need to address something. I am **_**not**_** going to present Daryl as a Nazi sympathizer, the bike was Merle's, just like in the show, and Merle is a racist. However, I really do feel that Beth would take an issue with the SS symbol being on his bike. For those of you who don't know the SS was a Nazi organization involved in anti-Semitism and lots of horrible things.**

**The backpack ministry Beth mentioned is actually a real thing in my community.**

**Hmmmm, anything else. . . well if you have any questions feel free to ask me. I will try to update with Daryl's chapter 2 relatively soon. **

**Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**

**3 engineergirl86 **


	2. June

**Thank you all for the loads of positive feedback and reviews you left on my first chapter! I am flattered! I hope to start posting chapters more quickly, and I hope they are to your liking. Without further ado, here is Daryl's POV.**

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><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 2: June_

-oOo-

"_I've been a rolling stone, all my life. Flying all alone, flying blind. I've seen it all. I've been around. I've been lost . . ."_

_-Chris Young_ "Who I am With You"

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><p>It was five o'clock, quitting time, and Daryl slammed the hood of the car he'd been working on at the auto repair shop. It was a side project he'd been putting some time into when business was slow or when it was near the end of the day. Daryl got on his motorcycle and sped out of the parking lot with a nod to several of his co-workers who were still standing around in the parking lot and headed to Jeremy's preschool. It'd been a week since Jeremy's new teacher had blown up on him about it, and he'd made a point of driving it every day since to portray how little her opinion swayed him. He'd be damned if he listened to some tiny blonde 100-pound-soaking-wet college girl. He used to drive his own pickup and Merle's bike fairly equal amounts, but he was determined to make a point. His brother told him he could have the bike while he was locked up as a thank you for takin' care of his boy. Daryl would have helped with the boy without any incentive, but he'd not said that to Merle. Besides, all he did was pick Jeremy up after work, go home, and turn on some cartoons for him until his mamma came and picked him up at 7:15. About two hours a day, that was all he did, wasn't no big deal. He fed him too, but it was either microwave dinners or some game he'd gotten on a recent weekend spent hunting. The kid seemed to like it well enough. Daryl knew it probably wasn't the right nutrition plan for a three year old, but he figured the blonde college girl at the preschool knew that shit and made sure Jeremy ate his veggies at school or what-the-hell-ever. Jeremy seemed to like their time together well enough and had brought all of his toy cars to Daryl's crappy trailer, which Jeremy also seemed to like. He asked Daryl lots of questions about engines, how cars worked, hunting, crossbows, and guns. Just about every day he had a new inquiry and Daryl didn't mind it at all. Everyone said he was quiet and hated talking but that wasn't entirely true. He hated talking about pointless bullshit, small talk, and emotional mumbo jumbo. If the kid wanted to learn about cars and hunting, actual useful information for life, then Daryl was more than happy to oblige him.<p>

Daryl pulled in to the parking lot, killed the engine and dismounted, wondering if the blonde would have any life lessons for him today. He'd noticed it in her eyes the day he met her, the enmity towards him. Then she'd made that comment about his bike not being safe enough, and that he should drive another vehicle. He'd really not expected any less from a college girl who'd always been given everything she wanted on a silver platter and didn't have any idea about real life. He saw the diploma displayed on the wall with her early childhood education degree. Her daddy was probably a doctor or lawyer that spoiled her and paid for her to go to college. Normally he'd go on and think that said college girl would be a total slut and get wasted at frat parties and have sex with random guys while her boyfriend was probably cheating on her, too. He loathed the stuck-up college assholes that thought themselves above him and others who worked for a living, but somehow the stereotype didn't seem to fit this girl. She was more of a goody-goody, holier than thou type. That wasn't quite as bad in his book, but he still wasn't overly fond of those people. Truth be told, he honestly didn't give a royal shit what she thought about him, as long as she didn't get the idea she could try and tell him how to live his life again. Once was all she would get on that, but really that wasn't accurate either, because what would he do about it if she did? There was no way he was going to hit a woman, and yelling at this tiny thing seemed a bit extreme, so really his hands were tied, and he just hoped she'd keep her nose out of his damn business. And honestly she had, since that first encounter, she'd been polite yet slightly curt, which was perfectly fine with him. He didn't have anything to say to her either.

This was why her greeting today threw him for a spin.

"Hi Mr. Dixon," she smiled sweetly as he walked into the classroom and Jeremy bolted over to grab his leg in greeting. She waited and watched as he ruffled Jeremy's hair and asked if he was ready to go. The boy nodded.

"Jeremy can I speak to your uncle alone for a second? I bet Landon would love it you two played cars for a few more minutes."

"Okay," the child happily obliged and went to the carpet to join the other boy.

_Here we go_, Daryl thought in annoyance as he stood disinterestedly watching her as she collected a clipboard with a blue sheet of paper attached from a close by table and turned back to face him.

"A week from Friday we're havin' our Father's Day party, and I thought you might like to come and bring somethin'." She met his eyes expectantly.

"I ain't 'is daddy."

"I know; we also have two grandpas and an older brother coming. I think it would be good for Jeremy to have his uncle here. He really admires you; it would mean a lot to him."

"Ain't really one for parties."

She smiled sweetly, "You don't have to be; it's a children's party. If all you do is show up it will mean the world to him."

Daryl nodded reluctantly. "Alrigh', what am I s'posed to bring? Ain't no good at cookin'" He groaned internally. He'd get so much flak from the assholes at the shop for this type of shit if they found out.

"Why don't you just bring some potato chips? No one has signed up for that yet." She gestured with an ink pen to the empty box beside the neatly printed words _Potato Chips_. She had probably the neatest handwriting of anyone he'd ever meant, looked like a damn computer typed it, except that the letters were a little bigger and bubblier, girlier, than typical computer typing. It'd be nice if the guys up the shop wrote that neat, then he might have an easier time discerning some of the tickets and notes left.

He nodded and took the pen and paper from her, sloppily scribbling _Daryl Dixon_ next to _Potato Chips_.

She gave him another little smile before turning and retrieving Jeremy, saying that his uncle was ready to go and she looked forward to seeing him tomorrow morning.

-o-oOo-o-

Eleven days later, Friday morning, the day of the Fathers' Day party at Jeremy's preschool, Daryl woke up early and went out back to work on the shed. The thing had been falling apart over the winter and he'd spent a minuscule amount of time fixing it, so he decided to take the day off work and dedicate the morning to shed repairs and go to the damn party in the afternoon, though he'd only told his boss he'd be working on the shed, not eager for his co-workers to know his afternoon plans. He was dreading it enough without their japes. It would be different if Jeremy was actually his kid, but he wasn't and Daryl didn't want them joking that he'd gone soft. Why had that blonde teacher, Beth, Beth was her name, gone and convinced him this was the right thing to do? It'd not taken long for him to remember her name, Jeremy had said it often enough and always with fondness.

At a little past noon the structure was looking much better and Daryl decided to stop as it would be easily completed Saturday morning. He grabbed a quick lunch consisting of a sandwich and some baked beans from a can that he'd heated on the stove. Then, he set out to the town's general store to pick up some potato chips and hoped that this thing would be quick and painless and he could just stand in a corner and no one would speak to him beside Jeremy. Somehow he doubted that, and the dread only increased as he approached the preschool. There weren't many cars in the parking lot, so he assumed he'd arrived before most of the other fathers, grandfathers and male relatives. That might actually work out ok, because he could establish a seat in the back, and no one would approach him. Maybe he could even claim an actual chair and not have to sit in one of those child sized ones. Daryl sighed; there would definitely be a trip to the bar tonight. This type of shit stressed him out worse than anything.

He glanced at his watch, 1:25. Hadn't Jeremy said this thing started at 1:30? Surely some other people would have arrived by now. Daryl grabbed the two bags of chips out of the side bag on his bike and walked into the building. He was met by the peculiar sight of the closed door of the 2 and 3 year olds classroom. This was odd. The door was always open. The little window slit on the door was also covered by a small green curtain, but on the other side of the door he could hear singing, sweet and melodious. At first he thought they must be listening to music, but as he got closer to the door he could tell, someone was singing. It was flawless enough to be a recorded song, but there were no accompanying instruments. Curiously, he reached for the handle about to turn it, but he stopped and just listened, not wanting to interrupt. Her voice was both beautiful and haunting.

"_Of all the money that ere I spent, I spent it in good company. And all the harm that ere I've done, alas it was to none but me. And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I can't recall. So fill me to the parting glass. Goodnight and joy be with you all."_

"She has a beautiful voice doesn't she?"

Daryl was suddenly thrust back into reality and his attention was called to the woman standing by the office smiling kindly at him. Sasha, he recalled, the assistant director. He'd remembered seeing her name on several of the letters Jeremy had brought home concerning activities in which the entire preschool was to participate. He stood there, his hand still resting on the door handle, looking at her stupidly and feeling embarrassed by his actions.

She seemed to catch on to his shame, and smiled wider, "Go on in, she won't mind if you listen. She sings to the children who can't sleep, or else they stay up to hear her sing," she shrugged. "Her voice has been the talk of the school since she started a couple of weeks ago."

He nodded at Sasha and turned the door handle pulling the thick wooden door open. This allowed light to flood into the dark classroom where only a few dim night lights were illuminated. His eyes scanned over the scene in front of him, the children were spread all throughout the classroom lying on tiny child sized cots, sleeping. Beth was sitting in a rocking chair rocking back and forth with her back to him, seemingly holding a child, and still singing. The melody was sweet and soft and filled the room.

"_Of all the comrades that ere I've had, are sorry for my going away, And all the sweethearts that ere I had, would wish me one more day to stay, But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not, I will gently rise and I'll softly call, 'Goodnight and joy be with you all!'"_

She stood and turned towards him giving him a little smile, cradling a tiny dark haired child in her arms.

"You're a little early Mr. Dixon; it's still nap time, but that's just fine. Grab a seat if you like," she whispered.

Nap time. But weren't they supposed to have that party? He was filled with confusion. She must have detected it on his face.

"The party starts at 2:30," she said sweetly.

"Jeremy said 1:30. I'll just come back," he started to walk away.

"You don't have to; you can just stay here. It shouldn't be too long until they wake up."

He nodded, wishing he'd been harder to convince and hoping that she would keep singing. And as if she'd heard his thoughts, she looked down at the little boy in her arms again and picked up with the song where she'd left off.

"_So fill to me the parting glass, and drink a health whate'er befalls. Then gently rise and softly call, 'Goodnight and joy be to you all. Goodnight and joy be to you all.'"_

Daryl sat in one of the damn tiny chairs, making sure his chair was at the end of the table closest to the back of the classroom, and just listened to her sing. She finished the song and started it over again then moved on to sing two more songs, her high soft soprano reaching into the very core of his being. She was captivating. Daryl fought to look bored and disinterested, yet he was anything but. He studied his shoes, but his eyes kept getting drawn back to the petite blonde rocking the little child in the rocking chair. He was facing her now from where he sat, and he just hoped that she was too distracted by the child and her singing to pay him any mind. Much to his dismay the little boy finally drifted off to sleep and she carried him over to his cot and tucked him in. With all the children asleep she stopped singing and went over to the kitchenette, getting the paper plates that read "Happy Father's Day" and placing them around the four child sized tables. It was pretty clear that they were not going to have much room with fourteen children, fourteen male relatives, and two teachers. The assistant teacher, Daryl was having difficulty recalling her name, came from the other side of the room where she'd been sitting between two sleeping children and helped Beth set the table. His eyes followed the blonde with every movement. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she wore a knee length blue skirt, light pink shirt and white cardigan. What caught his attention the most, though, were the cowboy boots she wore.

Beth placed the plates at each seat around the table coming to where he was and placed one in front of him, giving him a small smile before continuing on around the table. When she finished she went back and collected the small matching paper cups and put them at each place setting, coming to him last this time and stopping before placing his cup.

"Can I get you somethin' t' drink while ya wait?" she asked.

"Nah 'm fine."

She nodded and set his cup down by his plate and walked off. The assistant teacher was walking around placing matching Father's Day napkins and plastic flatware. His eyes followed Beth as she went to set up the food they already had on the counter, opening the two bags of chips he contributed, retrieving some cookies that he assumed were the ones Jeremy had mentioned, and placing other various food items he assumed she and the other workers brought. Yesterday Jeremy had come home bragging about learning to make cookies with Miss Beth. The whole class had worked together under Beth's direction and made a huge batch for the Father's Day party. Across the room Daryl noticed one of the kids starting to stir. Unfortunately it wasn't Jeremy, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. One was fine, but pretty soon he was going to be surrounded by children.

After a few minutes enough of the children were awake to realize that he was there.

"Hey! Jeremy! That's your uncle over there!" one yelled.

"Well, now they're all awake," the older assistant teacher said to Beth, not bothering to hide her frustration.

Beth just smiled and walked over to the child who called out and knelt in front of him taking his little hands in hers and smiling. "Michael, it was really kind of you to tell Jeremy that his uncle is here, but next time let's use a whisper voice, so we don't wake all of our friends up. You can just gently tap his shoulder and tell him with quiet words, ok?"

"Ok, I'm sorry Miss Beth."

Beth smiled and stood up, gently patting the child's arm.

Meanwhile Jeremy sat up sleepily and rubbed his eyes, then squinted across the room and saw Daryl. A smile broke over his face, and Daryl stood up to walk over to him, towering over the waking children and petite teacher. She smiled at him in passing and he looked at the floor before reaching Jeremy and picking him up. Beth was crossing the room to greet the first dad to arrive.

"Hey! You have a motor cycle right?" a little boy asked.

Daryl grunted his affirmation, and attempted to escape across the room back to his ridiculously small chair at the ridiculously small table.

"Can I drive your motorcycle?" another child petitioned. They were following him across the room.

"Jeremy's Uncle, um your sleeves are ripped out," a little girl informed him.

"Why don't we all come over to the carpet and read a book?" Beth's voice sang out, coming to his rescue. "I have a story to read." The children quickly flocked over to where she took a seat on the carpet, save for Jeremy. Meanwhile the two assistant teachers collected the tiny cots quickly into a stack in the storage closet.

"Will you come sit with me for the story?" Jeremy asked.

"Nah, I can hear fine from here."

"But Lacy's dad is sittin' with 'er."

Beth seemed to sense the turmoil from across the room. "Why don't you join us Mr. Dixon?"

"Yeah!" a child cheered. Daryl had no idea why. He just let out a hesitant breath and jerked his head in the direction of the carpet to indicate that Jeremy should follow. Daryl stood behind where Jeremy sat and pretended to listen as she read the book. Male relatives were trickling in and taking seats at the tables or gathering around the carpet. It was just about time for the party and Daryl prayed it would pass quickly. He needed a drink, and not fruit punch juice packs. The food piled up on the counter as the adults trickled into the classroom. Beth finished the book and the children went to their family members excitedly and found seats. Daryl had quickly collected his nephew and bolted for the rear of the room to reclaim his seat in the back.

The party went pretty well. None of the adults spoke to Daryl and Jeremy was the only child who spoke to him much. The others seemed more interested in their own family members and their friends than in him, and when he was addressed he answered disinterestedly which quickly bored the curious children. The only time he felt uncomfortable was when Beth served him food. She and her two assistants came around the table with each food item and served it to those who wanted it. It was just when Beth leaned over him to place the food on his plate that he felt it; he was awkwardly self-aware when she did. He tried to push the feeling aside by reminding himself that she wasn't in his space; she was just putting food on his plate. It didn't bother him when the other two women did it, so why should it bother him when it was her?

After eating, Beth took the children over to a cabinet and passed out the cards they made to each of them. Jeremy strolled over and laid his on the table in front of him.

"I know it's dumb, but we did it," the boy said, as if that was an explanation or even made the least bit of sense. Daryl picked up the card Jeremy made him. It was red construction paper with black marker on it. Jeremy had drawn a car, a motorcycle and a crossbow in childish figures. It took Daryl at least a minute to decipher the latter. There were also two stick figures. One taller than the other and scattered letters of various sizes under each of them reading "Daryl" and "Jeremy." The boy knew how much he loved hunting with his crossbow, and he didn't know what to say so he settled for nodding and saying "I like that crossbow." Jeremy's face lit up. Daryl had assumed Jeremy had just been embarrassed by the card gifting situation, so the child pretended not to care, but secretly he did. This kid was one hundred percent Dixon.

"Made one for Daddy too," Jeremy said. "Miss Beth put it in my cubby to take home."

Daryl nodded.

-o-oOo-o-

It was a Tuesday evening, and the day had been sweltering, the hot Georgia sun beating down on him. The extreme humidity promised rain in the near future. The fact that it was nigh eight o'clock did little to quell the musky warmth of the day, and the sun still peeked above the horizon, only just now beginning to set and bring on dusk and some relief. Daryl Dixon wasn't one to complain about the heat, but the summer solstice seemed a bit early for a day of one hundred degree temperatures, especially with this humidity. The air conditioning had gone out in his trailer and he'd spent the better part of the afternoon fixing it while Jeremy stood close by, enthralled by what he was doing and seemingly unaffected by the heat of the day. It hadn't been a pleasant surprise to Daryl when the two got home to find the trailer just as hot as the outside. He'd finally fixed it, but it was still hot and muggy inside and he'd not had the opportunity to eat while working on it. He had stopped, however, to make Jeremy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat while Daryl worked. When Linda picked Jeremy up Daryl elected to go to the Diner to get something to eat while the house cooled off.

He pulled Merle's bike into the parking lot of the Diner and dismounted, walking in and taking a seat at the bar. Rosita greeted him and asked how he'd been doing. He replied that he'd been doing fine, opting for the one word answer rather than sharing his air conditioning ploy with her like a more social person might. He did ask about her and Abe though, trying to stomach the small talk to be nice. He'd known the two a long time and had always gotten along well with Abe despite their differences in personality; Rosita was likable too. She told him that she and Abe had been discussing getting married, and they were doing well. Eugene, Abe's best friend, had been in a hunting accident and had to be taken to the hospital in Atlanta. Daryl asked what had happened, wondering why something of this magnitude hadn't reached the talk at the repair shop. Rosita laughed a little.

"He shot himself in the leg with Abe's shot gun. Thankfully it wasn't a direct hit. He has some shot in his leg, but he'll be fine. What d' ya want to drink?"

"Tea, 'n' I'll have a burger 'n' fries."

She nodded, brought him a glass of sweet tea, and put in his order for a burger and fries. Daryl glanced around the diner taking note of the familiar faces when he caught a glimpse of blonde hair from somewhere in the back. His attention was drawn immediately to the table where Beth sat with . . . was that Spencer? Daryl swore under his breath.

Why should he care though? If the dumb girl was stupid enough to go out with Spencer Lane, it was none of his concern. Still though, dude was an asshole. In high school he'd gotten in trouble more than anyone else Daryl knew, and for everything under the sun. He'd been gone a good long while, probably to college, and seemingly moved back. Daryl didn't like him, but he'd not had too many run-ins with him. Spencer was from a wealthy family whose money got him out of most of his delinquencies. He was too good for the likes of the Dixon brothers. Merle had had a run-in with him some years back over drugs. Daryl couldn't remember the details of it himself. Unlike his brother Daryl never really got into doing drugs. That kind of shit ruined your life. Didn't mean Daryl was blameless though, he went along with Merle on some of his dealings and did plenty of other dumb things in his days. Spencer, though, he was worse than either of the Dixon brothers. Hell, maybe he'd changed though. He worked at the bank now, and had since he'd gotten back, what, maybe two years ago? Daryl wasn't sure, but that sounded about right. He'd not really heard much of him other than that he was working at the bank, so maybe he had gotten it together, but Daryl was skeptical, as always. His meal came, he ate it, paid, and left. Beth's back was to him and she'd not seen him. He climbed on to his bike and tried to push aside the bad feeling in his gut.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A few things. Daryl doesn't know Mary or Amy's names, so he just refers to them as 'assistant teachers' but yeah that's who he was referring to. The song Beth sang was**_** The Parting Glass**_**. Hmmm, oh, Linda works at the Diner, but she gets off at 7 pm and goes and get Jeremy. This is the same diner where Beth and Shawn ate last chapter. The bar at the diner wasn't an alcohol bar, it is like an old Mom and Pop southern diner. I hope I painted that picture well. This is a really small two light town. They don't really have any chain stores or restaurants. Also, Daryl doesn't stalk Spencer, I hope I didn't make his level of knowledge creepy. You just hear everything about everyone in small southern towns. Also, I like to torture Daryl and put him in uncomfortable situations like in the preschool. Sorry, I'm mean. I hope to update sooner than the, what was it, 12 days it took me this last time. Ugh, yeah sorry about that. I blame my husband, my sister, and my job. No, but seriously I will make a more valiant effort for chapter 3. It should be easier for me to write. Typically Beth's POV is. **

**One last thing on the Bethyl relationship status: Beth being nice to Daryl in this chapter does not equal her having a crush on him. She thinks he is attractive, but she still thinks he isn't really a good person. Her being sweet is just Beth being Beth. She felt a little bad after being mean to him, so she is trying to do the right thing and be nice. Daryl is a little bit farther along, but unlike Beth would, he doesn't really get what his feelings mean. He's drawn to her, but he doesn't know what that really means, and he certainly hasn't considered being with her. He doesn't think that's possible and it's not yet crossed his mind. This will be a slow burn, so just hang in there lovelies and I promise you there will be Bethyl. There will be a decent amount of angst and hardship first though. Here are the ages of the characters you are probably most interested in. Feel free to ask about the ages of any of the supporting characters.**

**Daryl – 28**

**Beth – 22**

**Spencer – 26**

**Jeremy – 3**

**And with that, I bid you a farewell. Thank you for reading and please drop me a review to let me know your thoughts. **

**3 engineergirl86**


	3. July

**Sorry it's been so long. It's a long chapter to make up for it. I really want to go to updating every week; I just haven't had the time to do so as of yet. This is in Beth's POV. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 3: July_

-oOo-

"_I still believe in fairy tales. I still believe in picking flowers. I still believe in getting lost in someone's eyes and talking for hours. I still believe in shooting stars. I still believe in midnight drives and butterflies you get right before you kiss for the very first time . . ."_

_-Jana Kramer_ "Love"

* * *

><p>Beth yawned and rolled out of bed, fumbling for the alarm clock to turn off the annoying bleating in her sleep induced state. She was tired, more so than she should be. Spencer had wanted to rent a movie to watch together, and she'd wanted to go to church, so she compromised with him and agreed to watch a movie at his apartment after church. Only the movie had lasted two hours, and it was well past ten before she left. He'd insisted that she could stay over, but Beth just laughed a little telling him that she only had to go down the stairs and a few doors over to get back to her own apartment, and so she walked home. It was convenient having a boyfriend that lived in the same apartment complex; that was, after all, how she'd met him. After seeing him in passing several times, he introduced himself to her and told her he worked at the bank. Beth was happy to meet someone new, so when she ran in to him the next day and he asked her to dinner that Friday she'd happily agreed. The next week he'd asked her to dinner again Friday night, and that time he asked her to be his girlfriend. He'd been kind to her and it had been quite some time since she'd been in a relationship, about a year, since she'd broken up with Zack. They were still on good terms as friends; the whole relationship thing just hadn't seemed to work out for them. Beth just didn't feel that Zack was the one, so she'd ended it, and it was past time she tried dating someone new. And who knew, maybe Spencer would be <em>the one<em>, so she decided to give it a shot.

Spencer's bankers' hours, though, were much shorter than hers at the preschool. For the past two weeks since they'd been an item, they had kept up their Friday dates at the Diner and last Tuesday Beth had Spencer over to dinner at her place. Saturdays, since she moved to Smithville, had belonged to Maggie and Glenn. She loved seeing them weekly, and so she'd turned Spencer down for a Saturday outing to Atlanta, in favor of seeing her sister and soon to be brother-in-law. So when Spencer asked her to spend Sunday with him, she'd felt that she owed it to him, so not to turn him down two days in a row. Thus, nlast night after church she went to his apartment to watch a movie, knowing it probably wasn't the wisest decision, and she would likely regret it this morning, which she did. Beth shuffled down to the kitchen to start some coffee and then went back to get ready for the day. Five-thirty in the morning felt extremely early, especially after not falling asleep until a little past eleven.

By the time Beth arrived at the preschool at a quarter until seven she was wide awake thanks to her travel mug full of coffee. She greeted Lori, who pulled in right after she did, and they chatted as they walked to their respective classrooms that were adjacent to each other. Lori was becoming a good friend and Beth was planning to invite her to join herself and Maggie on an upcoming shopping trip to Atlanta later in the month.

-o-oOo-o-

"Have a good afternoon Jeremy," she smiled as the child waved to her and followed his uncle out the door. Beth peered out the window to see if any other parents were on the way into the school so she could tell the respective child to get ready. It was twenty minutes until closing, and there were still four children in the classroom, so she knew the other parents wouldn't be too far from arriving.

It was at that moment that she spotted something, or rather someone, that alarmed her. A very large man stepped out of an old beat up car. He was bald and had broad shoulders. She reached for a notebook on the shelf by the door and called for Mary to come up to the window with her. Noting the sobriety in her tone Mary quickly obliged. Beth quickly flipped the binder to the tab that read "Restraining Orders" and looked at the first of the two files. She turned the binder to let Mary see it when she approached and then glanced pointedly outside. Mary followed her gaze and nodded. It was Tommy's dad, and he was forbidden to be around the boy. There was absolutely no good reason that he could be at the preschool. When Beth started she had to memorize the names and faces of adults not permitted to be around the children. There were two for her classroom; and it hadn't been difficult to memorize them. Beth quickly pushed the button on the wall that alerted the other classrooms in dangerous situations such as this. The alarm was quiet, using only a flashing yellow light to alert the teachers and not scare the children. Protocol insisted that they lock the doors to ensure that there would be no danger to the children. Across the room Amy was watching the exchange and she seemed to immediately catch what was happening. Pulling out a book and grabbing a chair, Amy directed the children to the safest area in the back of the classroom explaining that she was going to read them an exciting story. The four little ones didn't offer much protest after Beth piped in that Miss Amy had a great idea; story time would be fun. Beth was grateful for Amy's alertness.

"I'll go out and talk to him," she told Mary.

Mary nodded, looking concerned. "You be careful."

Beth slipped out, locking the door behind her and Mary drew the curtain most of the way shut. Inside the classroom Beth knew the lights were being dimmed and the children were listening to a story, safe. All tactics to keep them quiet and safe just in case something went bad; the other classrooms would be doing the same.

The front door swung open forcefully and Scott Harrison stepped into the building purposefully and looked around. It was only a heartbeat before he saw Beth starting to approach him slowly from down the hall.

"I'm here to get my boy, Tommy" he told her impetuously.

"Mr. Harrison, I cannot allow that." Beth wondered if maybe he had heard there was a new teacher, and that was what made him think to try this now.

"Like hell you can't, he's mine. Ain't yours. Give me my boy, bitch."

"Mr. Harrison, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." From her left Beth saw Lori looking out the window in her classroom, pressing her phone to the glass to show Beth. The screen read _Rick Grimes_. It wouldn't be long until the sheriff was on his way. Beth just hoped she could keep this jerk from the children for that long.

He bulled toward her and grabbed her forearm forcefully. "Where is he? Open the damn door! I know you got it locked! I'm getting my boy!"

Beth took a deep breath, steeling herself to hold her ground when suddenly the huge man was jerked back from her and slammed into the wall. Beth's first thought was that it hadn't taken long for the sheriff's department to arrive, but then she realized it wasn't the cops, but Daryl Dixon. He stepped between her and the man who he'd just thrown against the wall.

"The lady said no. There somethin' wrong with your ears?"

"Get outa my way Dixon or I'll kick your ass!" Scott stood straight back up.

Daryl's eyes met Beth's for a brief second and then went to Jeremy who'd seemingly followed him back into the building, but she was already on it. Moving quickly, she scooped the child up and gently pressed his face to her chest so he wouldn't see.

"Let's take this outside," Daryl replied.

"Nah I'll kick yer redneck ass right here."

Beth backed up to the door, and Mary cracked it allowing Beth to slide in with the child. Once inside, she quickly locked it back and drew the curtain just so she could see but preventing Jeremy and the other children. Thankfully the others were clueless and listening to Amy's story.

"I wanna see Uncle Daryl kick his ass!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Shh, we don't say that word Jeremy."

"But I wanna see."

Beth drew the curtain. "No one is going to watch. Quiet now," she stared humming to settle the child down and walked towards the CD player. Her humming and Amy's reading wasn't enough to muffle the sounds of punches hitting flesh outside. She turned the radio up loud, not even caring what song it was and barely recognizing it as "The Months of the Year" sang to the Macarena tune. She didn't use CD's much, but she was in no fit state to sing at the moment.

She was worried about Daryl, he had come back inside, probably noticing that something was off, and put his own safety on the line to protect her and the children. Scott was a really big man, sure Daryl was tall and broad with muscular arms, but Scott was a bit taller and seemed to have a natural bulkiness to him. Her expression must have revealed her line of thought, because Jeremy, who had been calmly playing with a lock of her hair as she held him smiled up at her and said, "Don't worry Miss Beth, Uncle Daryl is gonna beat the shit out of 'im."

Beth couldn't help but smile. She hugged Jeremy tight. "You're right, but let's not use that word okay?"

"Which one?"

Beth sighed, and silently prayed that Rick would arrive soon and Daryl would be okay.

After a couple of minutes of her curiosity eating at her, Beth put Jeremy down and told him to go listen to the story with the other children. She went to the door to peer out the tiny window, pulling the curtain to the side. No one was in the hallway, then the door to the school opened and Daryl walked in alone, slowly, but he seemed to be okay. Beth felt relief wash over her, and she quickly opened the door and rushed out to him.

"Are you okay? Did he leave? What happened?"

"Managed to take it outside. He's out cold now. Cops 'll get 'im, assumin' they're comin'."

"They are, Lori called them." She approached him. "Thank you for coming back and keeping us safe. You didn't have to do that," then she saw the gash above his eye and stopped what she was saying.

"You're hurt," she reached up and touched beside the bleeding wound on his brow, careful not to make contact with the gash. He flinched away from her touch, jerking back. She quickly pulled her hand away.

"'S nothin'."

"It is. You're bleedin'. Let me clean it for you." She led him back into the classroom, not giving him any time to protest. The medicine cabinet was located high, up above the sink and fastened with a child lock. Inside she reached for the antiseptic and a small disposable cloth. Turning to face Daryl, she smiled seeing Jeremy had run up to stand beside his uncle; the child was beaming.

"That was so cool! You beat that guy up!" Jeremy piped.

"Hell yeah I did," Daryl replied. Beth decided to just give up on the 'no cursing in the classroom' rule for the remainder of the day.

"Is he knocked out? I wanna see 'im!" Jeremy asked Daryl. Beth smiled, unable to force the reaction down, at the child's adorable hero worship of his uncle. Unfortunately, she was going to have to be the bad guy. She didn't want talk of what had happened going around the classroom, especially for Tommy to hear it. She had hoped that the majority of the children were still in the dark about the goings on. She'd managed to maintain an air of calm amongst the little ones, though the workers were anything but calm.

"Jeremy, shhh," she said sweetly, "why don't you go back over with the others and listen to Miss Amy's story. Uncle Daryl has a cut that I need to clean. You and he can talk about what happened after school, but I don't want the younger children to get scared. Can you be a big boy for me and help me with that?"

At her final question the boy's face went from obvious disappointment to a smile. "Yeah, I can!"

"Ok," Beth smiled at him. "Thank you." She patted the child gently on the back and he returned to the other children. Beth turned her focus to the man.

She nodded towards the stool and said "You can sit if you want." He obliged.

Beth took a deep breath as she applied the antiseptic to the cloth, trying to calm her nerves. She pressed the cloth to his forehead and hoped that he wouldn't notice that her hands were still shaking. He kept his gaze down as she cleaned the wound.

After a minute, he grabbed her wrist, gently yet firmly, and pulled her hand back from his face, meeting her eyes. "You're safe now." She realized with certainty that he had felt her trembling.

Beth gently pulled her wrist back, slightly insulted, and he let go. She met his eyes again. "Wasn't scared for myself," she said and glanced over to where the children sat with Mary and Amy in the back of the classroom. She met his eyes again. "I'd stand up to the devil himself to protect those children, only I knew it wasn't going to end well. Best I coulda done was slow 'im down. I was so afraid of him hurting them." Tears filled her eyes and it clearly made him uncomfortable. He looked away. Beth reached out and gently laid a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Thank you Daryl. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here."

"Wasn' nothin'," he shrugged and she went back to cleaning his wound. About the time she was done she heard the sirens. The sheriff's department had arrived, and she quickly addressed the startled children.

"The Sheriff's Department, and Mrs. Lori's husband are coming to visit for a little bit. Everything is okay," she smiled and went to pick up a startled child. "You know what would be fun? I bet Miss Amy or Mrs. Mary would love to read you a book about police officers while I go outside and talk to them. I'll be right back." She gave the child she was holding a final hug and passed him off to Amy as Mary selected a book and began to read. She then turned to follow Daryl outside, and saw Rick running in the door to check on Lori. Outside she could see another three officers; one was checking on the unconscious Scott. Daryl looked uncomfortable, but Beth knew they would have questions for him and her both.

-o-oOo-o-

Spencer yawned and leaned back in the wooden chair, tipping it back on its back legs. "That was delicious, where'd you learn to cook like that Babe?"

"My mamma," Beth replied, beaming. She quickly collected the dishes and went to the kitchen and placed them in the sink.

"Well your mamma sure taught you well."

Beth collected the left overs and put them in the fridge and then went to the sink to start washing the dirty dishes. She was humming to herself when she felt Spencer walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist and lay his head against hers. She nuzzled against him, rubbing her cheek against his. His hands dropped down to her hips and began to slide up under her shirt as he pulled her back flush against him. She pulled her face away from his and said "no," very meekly. When he didn't stop she said, "Spencer, please stop," and after that when he didn't, she wrenched away from him.

"Really? It's been almost a month," she could hear the frustration in his voice.

"I asked you to stop."

"Thought you were just playin' around."

_No, _she thought,_ the first time you might have thought that but the second time my tone was perfectly clear. _"I ain't ready for that yet."

"Well, when will you be? What the hell Beth?" He sighed, "C'mon let's just watch some TV or something."

Beth sighed and followed him into her living room.

-o-oOo-o-

"Miss Beth, can I paint?"

"Sure, let's get the paint out and get you an apron." She reached up for her coffee on the top shelf and took a sip. "Does anyone else want to paint?" It was early, a Tuesday morning late in July, and not many children had arrived just yet, so usually they liked to all play together. She got two more takers and set the children up with aprons and various colors of water based paints.

The sound of crying in the hallway distracted her and she looked to Mary to ask her to finish up setting up the paints while she went to see if one of her little ones was having a tough morning, but what she saw surprised her.

Daryl Dixon was walking down the hall carrying a sobbing Jeremy. "I want Mamma!" the child whimpered. This was an odd sight indeed, not only did Jeremy not cry on the way in to school since her first week back in May, but Daryl never dropped him off, it was always Linda, and it was never this early. The clock showed 7:40 and when she looked outside there was no bike, but an old pickup truck that Daryl must have driven this morning. _So he does have another vehicle,_ Beth thought, but now was not the time for such musings. Jeremy was crying more than she'd ever seen before, and one of his little fists was tightly clutching the name patch on Daryl's mechanic's shirt, effectively covering all the letters but the _l _at the end. His other hand was clinging to the frayed shoulder of Daryl's shirt where the sleeve would have been. She approached them as Daryl walked towards her. Jeremy didn't even see her with his crying into Daryl's shoulder.

"Jeremy what's wrong sweetie?" she held out her arms to take him from Daryl. Jeremy turned and reached for her and Daryl passed him to her. She held him close to her and rubbed his back as he rested his head on her shoulder and grabbed at locks of her hair in her pony tail. Daryl turned to walk away.

"Mamma's gone!" the child sobbed.

Beth felt her stomach flip. Had Linda died or left? Is this why Jeremy hadn't been at school yesterday? "Daryl wait!" she called after him. Jeremy hadn't even realized he was leaving and when he looked up to see it was so, he started crying all over again. "Uncle Daryl don't go!" Daryl came back and gently rubbed Jeremy's back to assure him that it was ok and looked at Beth as if she was about to explain what she needed, as if it wasn't obvious that it would be helpful to know what was going on so she could comfort the child.

"What's goin' on?" she asked him.

Daryl sighed. "His mamma OD'd on some kinda pills on Sund'y. She has these neighbors, real old, nosey. Seen Jeremy outside by hisself wanderin' 'round several houses down. Called her an' she didn't answer. Called me, no damn clue how they got my number. Musta called the cops too cause they beat me there. Linda was out cold, an' they sent her to the hospital. Jeremy thought she was sleepin' 'n' went outside t' play. I didn't even know she was doin' that shit. Last I heard she quit when she found out she was pregnant with this un." Daryl shook his head. "Stupid bitch. Jeremy saved her life, goin' outside and startin' all this shit. Course, the cops picked him up and took him back to his mamma's not havin' any clue what they were bout ta see."

Beth didn't know what to say, she just held Jeremy tightly and looked at Daryl. "I'm so sorry."

"Jeremy," she said, "it's gonna be okay. The doctors are goin' to help your mamma get better."

The crying quieted down and Daryl nodded to Beth. "I gotta get goin, took off work yesterd'y cause of all this and t' stay with him. I'll be back this afternoon Jeremy." He looked back up at Beth, "he ain't cried like this since they took her to the hospital. This morning when I woke him up to take 'im here he just started carryin on like this. Reckon it's 'cause he is used to ridin' t' school with his mamma. Ain't been up but twenty minutes."

"I'd say your right. Children cry a lot more in the mornings when they first wake up and around time to go to bed. It's because they are so tired, and ridin' to school is somethin' he associates with his mamma, so yeah, like you said."

Daryl nodded, "See ya this afternoon Jeremy." He patted the child's back one last time.

The child looked at him almost like he didn't believe him, but didn't say anything. Daryl turned and walked out.

-o-oOo-o-

Jeremy was quiet for the next three days, even more so than normal for the quiet natured child. Beth made sure that he wasn't alone, spending time with him whenever she could while still making sure all of the children got her attention, singing to him when he couldn't sleep, or seeing to it that Mary sat beside him when he lay down for a nap. She was careful to see to it that he also interacted with the other children, and though he didn't say much or contribute to the play of the others, he would play in the same area at times. When a few of the children played house Jeremy would stack pots and pans, or when the plastic animals would carry on conversations in childish voices, Jeremy would be there with a plastic tiger, walking him up the side of a book case. All of this was satisfactory for Beth, at least for the time. She knew it would take time for him to heal with his mother still in the hospital in poor shape, and likely to have to go to some drug abuse recovery program since this was not her first time. What she really wanted to do though, was check with Daryl. It was Thursday, Jeremy's third day back in school, and his uncle looked worse for the wear every time she saw him. He seemed to be exhausted, and it made Beth wonder if maybe Jeremy wasn't as okay as he seemed at school. What if he cried a lot in the evenings? Daryl didn't seem like the kind of man to know a whole lot about taking care of children, and it was likely wearing him out. Especially because this was a traumatized child who didn't understand why he couldn't see his mother, and it wasn't too long after a similar thing happened with his father. She hoped and prayed the boy wouldn't develop abandonment issues permanently. She also knew that Daryl was trying and that he loved the child, but Jeremy's hair and clothes were in a complete disarray. Beth was fairly certain the child was dressing himself without any help. Yesterday his shoes were on the wrong foot and today he had two different socks on and his shirt was inside out.

That afternoon when Daryl pulled up to get Jeremy, Beth told Mary that she was going to step out for a minute to talk to him. There were only three children remaining, so there was no need to get Amy when Beth stepped out. One adult was sufficient to meet the required ratio. Beth walked towards the door and met Daryl on her way down the hallway. She noticed that he drove his truck again today.

He looked at her inquisitively. "Jeremy okay?"

Beth realized that it must look bad for her to meet him at the door to the preschool without his nephew, and what it could imply, so she quickly assured him that he was fine. "Yeah, he is playing cars, I just wanted to talk to you."

Daryl nodded as if to tell her to go ahead.

"Are you doing okay with him? You look exhausted. How is he acing at home?"

Daryl sighed, clearly not one for sharing his woes with the world. "He's quiet. Cries a lot. Not loud like he did the other mornin' but just sits an' cries sometimes. Ain't seen 'im cry since he was a baby. Did he cry at school before?"

Beth smiled, "Sometimes, often times little boys won't cry around men they look up to; they don't want to be seen as less than manly and tough. They have little egos, too. Just make sure he knows that it's okay to cry." Daryl was looking uncomfortable, so she went on, "and how about you? How are you handling the change?"

Daryl looked up at her from the place on the ground he'd been staring a hole into and looked as if he was going to say something. His expression said a million things but he only shook his head.

"It's okay, I want to help." Beth rested her hand on his arm.

He took a breath and met her eyes. "I'm in over my head. I don't have a damn clue what I'm doin'. He's up most of the damn night and he's always sad. Don't eat like he used to. I don't know what to do. Mine 'n' Merle's parents are dead and Linda's family is in Texas. They all ain't really on good terms an' I don't wanna send 'im away anyways. I know that ain't what he needs. But he sure as hell needs more than just me. I ain't got a clue."

"Would you like me to help?"

Daryl met her eyes again.

"I could take him to my place and spend some time with him, but he really needs to be around you and in the place where he will be living, so I could come over to your place a couple nights a week after work."

Daryl looked at her for a second and nodded. "Yeah, that might be good. I'll pay you."

"No, Daryl, I want to help. This isn't babysitting. I want to be there for my kids and their families. Let me help you. No strings attached."

"I don't care to pay you though, with your degree an' all you deserve more than baby sitter's wages. I ain't aimed to take advantage. I don't like owin' no one. I'll pay you. What do you wanna do? Two nights a week?"

"You ain't paying me and you won't owe me. I want to help. Yeah, how about Tuesday and Thursday? I could even come by Saturday mornings if you'd like."

"That's a lot for me to ask of ya."

"You ain't askin'. I'm offering. I want to help. If you'll hang around for twenty more minutes I will be off work. I can follow you to your place."

Daryl nodded, "okay, I'll go sit in my truck."

"You can come sit inside if you want," she smiled.

"Alrigh'"

Daryl followed her back into the classroom and sat in the corner. Jeremy saw him and went over to show him a toy car he was playing with. Beth thought it was a good sign, though the child lacked for his usual excitement that such a situation would involve.

-o-oOo-o-

Twenty minutes later all the children had been picked up and Mary was on her way out the door. Lori leaned in to wave bye to Beth.

"See you tomorrow," she called.

"Bye Lori!"

Daryl picked Jeremy up and headed for the door as Beth made sure everything was shut down and put away for the night. She turned off the lights, and locked the door and followed Daryl out, waving bye to Sasha through the window to the office.

Daryl put Jeremy in his car seat in the truck and turned to Beth. "You good to follow me? It ain't too far. Ain't nice as yer used to either I'm sure."

Beth raised an eyebrow, "Daryl I don't care how nice your place is. It doesn't matter."

"Alrigh'"

Beth got in her car and followed him the ten minute drive to a little trailer on the edge of town. It certainly wasn't fancy, but Beth didn't care. Daryl got out of the truck and got Jeremy out. Beth followed him inside.

"Miss Beth you came home with us!" Jeremy said.

She laughed a little, "I sure did!"

The living room definitely looked like a man's house. There were no decorations, only an old TV on an even older TV stand, a blue couch and a brown recliner covered in child's blankets and a tiny pillow. Jeremy had been sleeping in the recliner she could tell. On the wall there was a mounted deer's head. The single shelf held a random assortment of DVDs, books, newspapers, and other things, and on the top shelf, bullets and two hand guns. A rifle was attached to the wall under the deer's head, thankfully out of Jeremy's reach. The child's toys were scattered about the floor. On the left side of the living room was a door that probably lead to Daryl's bedroom and at the back was a wide opening that lead to the kitchen. This is where Daryl led them.

Once inside the kitchen, Beth saw a little table and three chairs that served as the dining room table and there was a back door that lead onto a small porch that had a grill on it. She could see the motorcycle parked out back. The kitchen itself was small and sported an old refrigerator, dishwasher, and metal sink. On the counter there was a microwave and a toaster. Everything was very economical and there were no decorations, and maybe everything was a little jumbled and not spotlessly clean, but Beth couldn't see why Daryl had been ashamed. There was nothing to be ashamed of here. Past the little table a hallway lead to the bathroom and a storage closest and another door into the bedroom. It was a small trailer, but that was really all that was needed for a single man.

"You want some tea or somethin'?" Daryl asked.

"Sure, tea sounds great."

Daryl put Jeremy down and got a juice box out of the cabinet, put the straw in it and handed it to Jeremy. Then he poured two glasses of tea and gave one to Beth.

It was some of the best sweet tea she'd had. "Mmm, where did you get this? It's delicious."

"There's this store on the edge of the town, Johnson's, it's a little local grocery. Mostly sell their own stuff, have a big farm. I get most of my food and shit from there."

"Miss Beth, Miss Beth, I want to show you my cars."

Beth smiled at Daryl and then followed Jeremy into the living room. The child was happy, and she hoped that she could keep him this way for the remainder of the evening. He needed it, and Daryl needed a break.

Beth sat in the floor with Jeremy as he began to show her his different toy cars. She glanced back and saw Daryl leaning back against the counter in the kitchen watching them. She gestured for him to join them, and after a minute he came and sat on the couch and watched as she and Jeremy played with the toy cars for the next hour.

Then he got up. "Jeremy I'm gonna get ya some food. Beth, you want anything?"

"Oh, I can help you."

"'S alright. I ain't got a lot, can't really cook, but I can make a microwave dinner or a peanut butter an' jelly sandwich."

"Hmm," Beth looked from Jeremy to Daryl, "what if we go to that store," she looked back to Jeremy, "and we can all cook together like at school?"

"Yeah!" Jeremy exclaimed. He looked to Daryl, "Please Uncle Daryl?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, c'mon. Let's go get in the truck." Daryl grabbed his keys and Beth grabbed her purse and followed Daryl and Jeremy out the door.

"Miss Beth will you ride with us?" Jeremy asked happily as Daryl lifted him into the truck and buckled him in to the child seat.

"Well if there is room and its okay with your uncle."

"Course it is." Daryl closed the passenger side door with Jeremy inside. "C'mon, girl, you'll have to get in the other side and ride in the middle if that's okay." He opened the driver's side door and she climbed in and scooted close to Jeremy's car seat to give Daryl plenty of room. When he climbed in after her and his bare muscular arm pressed up against her she had to fight back a blush, and when he started driving the way his muscles flexed as he turned the steering wheel made her face feel warm. She looked over to Jeremy to talk with him, so as not to look at Daryl's arms, and reminding herself that she had a boyfriend. She tried not to wish Spencer's arms looked like Daryl's. Spencer was a nice guy and she liked him well enough.

At the store Beth got the ingredients to make grilled chicken tenders, broccoli cheese casserole, and some baby carrots that she would steam. She also got some brownie mix, so they could have something for dessert. Children always seemed to love making dessert items the most. When they got to the counter to check out and Beth pulled out her wallet to pay Daryl gently pushed it away.

"I got it."

"What? It was my idea Daryl."

"I got it."

"Okay."

On the way home they were driving along peacefully when someone jerked around a corner, and ran a stop sign directly in front of them. Daryl swore and jerked the steering wheel to the right sharply to get out of the way, effectively throwing Beth sideways so that she fell into his lap. The old truck didn't have a seatbelt in the middle. Once at a complete stop Daryl picked her up by the shoulders and met her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"Mmhmm," she replied. His eyes were blue. She'd not noticed before, a deep blue, so full of mystery. There was so much to him that she didn't know, but she found herself wanting to know more. His hands on her shoulders were big and rough and warm. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds until Beth looked down and pulled out of his hands to check on Jeremy, suddenly feeling very self-aware.

-o-oOo-o-

Daryl sat at the table and watched as Beth walked Jeremy though the steps of preparing the broccoli casserole, combining the cheese, washed broccoli, rice, and other ingredients. She took care of the grilled chicken tenders herself, not wanting the child to touch the raw meat. After putting the broccoli casserole into the oven she and Jeremy prepared the carrots in a pot. The child was standing in a chair so to be able to reach the counter.

When the food was done Beth put it on plates and set the table, refusing to let Daryl help since he had paid. Preparing the food was the least she could do.

"Was that fun Jeremy?"

The child nodded taking small bites of his chicken.

Daryl ate silently, elbow on the table and staring down at his plate. He finished first and got up to get more of everything. After finishing his second plate he nodded to Beth. "'s really good."

They decided to save the brownies for the next time Beth came over, full as they all were. By the time the evening was over Beth had built buildings with Jeremy out of his stacking blocks, made a fort out of blankets, driven the cars through and around both the fort and the block buildings, and finally given Jeremy a proper bath. It had come to her understanding that the only bath he'd had since being put in Daryl's care involved Daryl spraying him with the garden hose in his swim trunks in the back yard. Beth was quite certain soap wasn't involved and that it had been the result of Jeremy begging to play in the water. After Jeremy's bath she combed his hair and led him back into the living room to tuck him in to his recliner makeshift bed. It was also apparently the first time he'd slept in pajamas since being in Daryl's care. Daryl had just put him to bed in his day clothes and told him to change when he woke up in the morning. The man had so much to learn.

"Goodnight Jeremy," she kissed his forehead.

"Are you staying with us tonight?" the child asked.

Beth smiled, "No, I need to go home, but I will see you at school tomorrow morning."

"Aw, I wanted you to stay. Will you stay sometime soon?" Children were so good at asking the most uncomfortable questions in the most precious innocent ways. She hugged him again. "We'll see, maybe sometime, but I need to go home tonight."

"Okay. Will you read me a story first?"

"Sure," she grabbed a book from his pile of stories and started reading. Daryl had been standing, but he sat down on the couch on the end closest to the recliner, and Beth perched on the arm of the recliner. By the time she got halfway through the book Jeremy had fallen asleep. She carefully stood and laid the book down on the end table. Daryl stood, too.

"I'll walk ya out," he said quietly.

She collected her purse and allowed him to open the door for her. He allowed it to close softly behind them when he stepped down onto the small front porch with her.

"Think ya can find yer way out?"

She nodded.

"Alrigh' call me if ya get lost." He knew she had the phone numbers of all her children's guardians in her phone in case of an emergency.

"I won't get lost."

"Listen, I really appreciate what ya did today. I ain't no good at this shit."

"You are, he adores you. You just need a little bit of help, and that's okay."

Daryl nodded and walked with her to her car, opening her door for her.

"What a southern gentleman," she teased as she got into the car.

"Phht, yeah sure."

"Goodnight Daryl."

"Night Beth."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There it is, hopefully y'all liked it. I wrote most of it in Nashville at the Opryland Resort on a business trip. I love business trips. As most of y'all know I'm a small town southern girl, so I'm sure I looked a bit odd showing up there in my riding jeans and boots and Schmidt jacket in the five star hotel. It wasn't quite as bad as Daryl Dixon goes to the Ritz but I'm sure I looked out of place. It was tons of fun though. If you ever get an opportunity to go I would recommend it. **

**So Beth and Daryl had a good amount more of interactions in this chapter, and we also get to see a little bit of what Spencer is like in Beth's POV. I hope there wasn't too much Jeremy in this chapter, and I hope y'all liked the little Bethyl moments. They've come to respect each other by this point, and we can see that she thinks he's good looking, but I mean, its Norman Reedus, duh. Of course he is. **

**Next chapter will be in Daryl's POV, so let me know what you think and what you want to see. I have the next couple of chapters planned out but I would love to hear what y'all are wanting. And again I will attempt to update more often. **

**Thanks!**

**3 engineergirl86**


	4. August

**Oh my gosh y'all. I am completely blown away by the positive responses I have received! Thank you so much! It means the world to me! I am also so happy that so many of you like Jeremy. I was worried, to be honest, that I was making him to central of a character, but from the feedback I have received y'all seem to be loving him. Addressing another comment I got concerning Linda and Merle, yes they will be mentioned and yes it's correct to assume that Daryl and Jeremy are visiting them when they can, but I'm not focusing on that too much because it will feel like filler material, and I'm not really a fan of filler more than necessary. I haven't written out a visit because it doesn't really have anything to do with Bethyl, just like I skipped over Maggie, Beth, and Lori's shopping trip to Atlanta last chapter. I mentioned it having been planned and it happened and may be mentioned in passing or in character development, but I'm not one for tangent storylines that aren't plot-centric (she says as she rambles on pointlessly in an A/N). Finally, I did something in the last chapter intentionally, that may have appeared to be an oversight or error, and I bet some of you caught it, but no one called me on it. Beth told Spencer she couldn't spend Saturdays with him because it's her day with Maggie, but she openly offered to help Daryl with Spencer on Saturdays. It wasn't an oversight. I'll just leave that thought there.**

**Now, just a fair warning this chapter will be a tiny bit more graphic than the past ones, and as you have likely noticed there is a good deal more cursing in Daryl's chapters. I don't think any of it is enough to raise the rating, but if you disagree please let me know and I will do so. Also fair warning, the angst levels go up a bit in this one. And with that, I will hush and let you read.**

* * *

><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 4: August_

-oOo-

"_A thousand lies have made me colder, and I don't think I can look at this the same. But all the miles that separate disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face. I'm here without you, baby, but you're still on my lonely mind. I think about you, baby, and I dream about you all the time. I'm here without you, baby, but you're still with me in my dreams, and tonight it's only you and me . . ."_

_-3 Doors Down_ "Here Without You"

* * *

><p>Daryl woke to a throbbing headache with the sun hurting his eyes. He tried to sit up but his head hurt so damn bad he allowed himself to fall back down. He covered his eyes with his forearm and tried to recall the events that had gotten him to this situation. Two things were evident. He was in his truck, and he had a massive hangover. Other than that details were quite fuzzy. He rubbed his face and forced his eyes open. The sun was high in the sky near its apex, so it was probably between eleven and one. If he knew which way north was he'd be able to sort it out as to which side of noon. He hoped it was a weekend, because if it wasn't he was missing work and that was normally frowned upon unless notice was given ahead of time or there was an emergency. He couldn't recall giving notice in the past few days, and usually he only got wasted on the weekends. In fact it had been a really long time since he'd gotten this wasted because he'd been taking care of Jeremy since Linda's OD, but he figured it was safe to assume this was a Saturday. Wait, Jeremy, where was Jeremy? Had he gone to the bar last night and left him at home alone? No, he wouldn't do that. Daryl rubbed his head trying to ward off the headache, and remember. Right, he'd taken Jeremy to the Marshalls'. They were friends of Linda and she would pay them to babysit when Daryl couldn't take care of Jeremy. They had a son a couple years older, and Daryl thought it would be good for Jeremy to stay the night with them. It was something Jeremy'd done before Linda's incident occasionally, and maybe it would provide some more normalcy. And honestly he really needed a drink, so he'd gone to the bar. But why was he passed out in his truck? He knew enough of the people here that they would have driven him home. Then he smelled it. That sickly sweet perfume, and a good chunk of it came rushing back. Fake blonde hair, red lipstick, a short skirt and boots, and the fact that he'd had a few too many; it was slowly coming back to him. Why she'd been interested in him he didn't know, but it'd been even longer since he'd been with a woman than since he'd had a drink. They'd gone out to his truck and everything had happened quickly. She was just as willing as he was, undoing his belt as soon as they reached the truck. As usual, he hadn't allowed her to take his shirt off, and he didn't bother with anything besides pushing her clothes out of the way. Then he remembered what went wrong; he'd called her Beth.<p>

She'd left, not that that was surprising. No woman wanted to hear another woman's name during sex, not even if it was a one night stand. But why had he called her Beth? Sure he spent a lot of time with the preschool teacher, and she was really cute, but that didn't mean anything. It bothered him more than he cared to admit; and he felt as if he was disrespecting her. Wait. If it was indeed a Saturday then that meant Beth was coming over to spend time with Jeremy. She'd be arriving at ten. Oh shit, and he'd told the Marshalls he'd pick Jeremy up at nine. Dammit. It was very clearly past ten. He fumbled around in the floor of his truck for his phone. It had to be here somewhere. Surely that woman hadn't stolen it . . . or his keys . . . He felt around blindly still not willing to open his eyes. His head was splitting and his stomach turning, and the first thing he found was a discarded condom. He sighed and flung it out the window, forcing himself to sit up and actually look. His head throbbed and he squinted his eyes, looking through the truck.

His phone was under the brake pedal next to his wallet. He must have flung them under there to get them out of the way. The keys were still in the ignition, thankfully. Daryl flipped his phone open, five missed calls. Two were from Beth and three from the Marshalls. The clock read 11:24. At least it was still on the A.M. side of noon. Without thinking he called Beth, not realizing that his hangover numbed brain hadn't even worked out what to say yet or cooked up a viable excuse for not being home when she came by out of the goodness of her heart to take care of his nephew, whom he'd effectively abandoned for the past few hours. Really though, when the hell did he get this drunk before? He'd always been able to hold his liquor. How long had it been since he'd drank enough to keep his ability or better yet, how much did he drink last night?

"Hello."

_Oh shit._

"Daryl, are you there?"

"Yeah," his voice came out cracked and hoarse.

"You okay? I came by this mornin' an' nobody was there."

"Yeah, I'm real sorry 'bout that, I uh . . ." _I what?_ What excuse would work here? He was up shit creek without a paddle. He certainly couldn't just hang up. Little as he knew about women, he did know _that_ never worked out well for a man. And his damn throat hurt and made his voice weird. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Daryl you don't sound so good, are you sick?"

"Nah I just . . . uh . . ." That had been his way out but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her.

"Daryl, it's okay. . . you can tell me . . . I mean, if ya want to."

"Jeremy's at a friend's house. He's fine; I gotta go pick 'im up. I'm jus . . . stupid."

He could hear her giggle on the other end of the phone.

"What?"

"Daryl are you drunk?"

". . . Yeah."

Giggling again. "Do you want me to come pick you up? We can go get Jeremy together. You probably shouldn't be drivin'."

"Nah, I'm-"

"Oh hush, where are you?"

"I'm at Blind Jack's."

"I'll be right there."

_Click._

Shit. Now what?

He decided the best place to start would be calling the Marshalls, and so he did and apologized for running late to get Jeremy. They said the boys were playing Legos and that he didn't have anything to worry about.

After the phone call he forced himself to set up and try to force down the headache and nausea.

A few minutes later Beth pulled up and Daryl got out of his truck to walk over to her car.

"Hey," she greeted.

Daryl nodded and got into the passenger side of her car. This was likely the most humiliating thing he'd ever been through.

"So where to?"

"Turn right outa here, 's back past my place."

Beth pulled out and headed in the directions he indicated. They stopped by Daryl's house to retrieve Jeremy's car seat. Then continued on the way.

"Just ahead. Third one on the left."

"You ok?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "This wasn't your problem. I feel like an asshat. You comin' to get me an' all. I'd have told ya no if you'd just stayed on the damn phone long enough."

"Daryl it's ok. Seriously, I've had to pick up idiots from the bar before. I have an older step-brother." She gave a little grin letting him know that it was ok and she was just teasing about the 'idiots' part.

He nodded, "thought you had somethin' with yer sister on Saturdays."

"I do, but I wanted to help out. She has the keys to my place. It'll be ok If I'm a few minutes late. She won't be in til one thirty or something."

Daryl nodded and got out of the car.

Janet Marshall opened the door and smiled knowingly at Daryl. "So this is why you're late. How on Earth did you snag one this pretty Dixon?"

Beth's cheeks colored prettily and she looked down.

"Ah, we ain't um . . . it ain't like that," Daryl answered and then cleared his throat awkwardly.

Thankfully Jeremy came around the corner, excited to see them and broke up the awkward moment. "Uncle Daryl, Miss Beth!" He hugged Daryl's leg.

"Ready t' go?" Daryl asked Jeremy. The boy nodded and Beth picked him up to put him in the car while Daryl paid Janet for babysitting.

Beth's time with them was shorter that day because of the late start, something that didn't go unnoticed by Jeremy. On the way back to get Daryl's truck around one Jeremy voiced his protest. "I don't want Miss Beth to leave."

Beth smiled back at the child. "Aw, Jeremy I'm so sorry sweetie. I will see you on Monday at school and I'll come to your house on Tuesday."

"Can we go swimmin'? I wanna go swimmin'."

Beth shrugged and looked at Daryl. "It's fine with me if Daryl knows where a good swimmin' hole is."

Daryl already knew this was a bad idea, but he'd been a shitbag to both of them already today so he wasn't about to say no. "Yeah, I know where one is."

Beth dropped him and Jeremy back off at his truck. Physically he was feeling a lot better, the hangover had passed. He was really glad she'd been with them today because he'd pretty much just sat on the couch and watched them play. By now though, he was back to normal. And in this state of sobriety he knew that Tuesday was going to be the death of him.

-o-oOo-o-

Since the first time Daryl led Beth to his apartment there was no need for him to go pick Jeremy up. Beth just brought him with her after work. It made Daryl feel bad, especially after what happened Saturday. Thus, he had made up his mind as he walked Jeremy in Tuesday morning.

"Good mornin'" Beth greeted them, sweet as molasses like always.

Daryl nodded in reply and then nervously started playing with his facial hair. Why was he nervous? "Uh, Beth, I uh, I was thinkin' you wasted a lot of gas on my stupid ass the other day, and uh, I, well I was jus' thinkin' I could pick both of you up this afternoon. Ya know, to make up for it."

"Daryl you don't have to do that."

He shrugged awkwardly. "Kinda want to make it up to you."

"Ain't nothin' to make up, but, okay, that's really nice of you. I get off at five thirty, but you already know that."

He nodded.

"Have a good day. I'll see you this afternoon."

She took Jeremy by the hand to lead him into the classroom. "Were pickin' you up and going swimmin' both?" Jeremy asked excitedly.

Beth nodded.

"Cool!"

And suddenly it was all worth all of the awkwardness and uncomfortable situations to Daryl.

-o-oOo-o-

As promised that afternoon, Daryl pulled up to the preschool at 5:30. Beth and Jeremy met him at the door and Beth had a big swimming bag with her. Daryl loaded Jeremy into the child seat as Beth put her bag in the bed of his truck and climbed in the driver door to sit in the middle.

Daryl drove home, knowing they were going to have to hurry to have enough time at the swimming hole. Mid-August was plenty warm, but the sun didn't stay out near as late as it did in June. Upon arriving home, Beth grabbed her bag and hurried into the bathroom to change. She emerged a few minutes later in cut-off denim shorts and a blue tank top that was covering her swim suit below. She was all legs, and Daryl cursed himself for starting while she bent over to say something to Jeremy.

"Right?" she turned to look at him.

"Hmm?" he'd not been listening at all to what she was saying.

"I said 'Uncle Daryl will agree with me; you definitely need to wear sunscreen'."

"Yeah, wear sunscreen." He didn't really give a shit to be honest. He never wore sunscreen, but if it helped keep Jeremy safe, then all the better. After Beth took Jeremy to change into his swimming trunks and sprayed him with sunscreen she informed Daryl that they were ready to go.

"Aren't you gonna get ready?"

"I ain't swimmin'."

"Well why not?"

"Yeah why not?" Jeremy echoed. Great now it was both of them against him.

"Don't want to. Let's go."

Daryl drove down some back roads and then some dirt roads, and it took fifteen minutes or so to get to the swimming hole, but when they did Beth and Jeremy both lit up.

"This is beautiful," Beth smiled. They all got out and Daryl tried not to watch as Beth took off her tank top and shorts. Her two piece was modest, only baring a few inches of her mid drift, but it was just enough to leave Daryl wanting to see more, and he cursed himself for it.

"Let's get in!" Jeremy ran towards the water, but Beth grabbed him and put a child size life vest she'd apparently bought him on while he pouted. Daryl didn't blame him. He wouldn't want to wear that damn thing either. Beth was a preschool teacher through and through though, always thinking about Jeremy's safety to what seemed to Daryl to be paranoid levels.

"Alright? You ready to go jump in?" she asked as soon as he was safely in his life vest. The boy's face lit up again and Daryl watched as the two ran and jumped in to the natural plunge pool.

"C'mon Uncle Daryl!" Jeremy called.

Daryl sat down on the bank to watch them. Jeremy was swimming around and Beth was treading water. He figured that maybe the life vest thing wasn't such a bad idea so Jeremy could go in the deeper part.

"No, you gotta get in," the child protested.

"Nah, y'all doin' fine without me."

"You always get in though."

"Does my presence bother you Mr. Dixon?" Beth asked impishly.

_Yeah it does. More than you know._

"Nah," he said, acting as aloof as possible.

"Then get in!" she splashed him. And Jeremy musta thought it was the funniest shit he'd ever seen for all the laughin' he did. Then, the little turd started splashin' him too and that was it.

"Alright, alright. Y'all make this damn near unpleasant." He stood up and kicked his boots off and waded into the water, at the shallow part and started splashing them back.

Jeremy started laughing again and Beth swam out of his range, smiling teasingly.

"Oh, so you can dish it out but you can't take it? That how it is girl?"

Beth blushed.

He waded further down into the water.

"You gonna get in fully dressed?" she asked. "Not even gonna take your shirt off?" and it seemed that the implication of what had been said hit them both at the same time.

Beth quickly looked away, blushing again and Daryl cleared his throat. Thankfully Jeremy broke up the awkwardness when he started splashing Daryl again. Daryl laughed and splashed him back and waded out further into the water until he had to start treading to stay afloat. Jeremy followed after him and Beth started swimming back over silently. Jeremy insisted that he wanted to jump in again, so Beth agreed to do so with him. Daryl wasn't really one for jumping in to the same body of water half a hundred times as most kids seemed to be. They could do that shit for hours, and how they never got bored he would never understand, and Jeremy was king amongst them. He'd jumped into this very stream hundreds of times Daryl had no doubt, so he elected to watch, treading water, as Jeremy and Beth laughed and jumped in over and over again. When Jeremy would jump in Daryl would make sure to pull him up out of the water and give him a gentle shove back towards the bank. One time though, either he didn't scoot back enough after helping Jeremy or Beth jumped too far; he could never be sure which; she surfaced right in front of him, her eyes still closed from being under water and his hands instinctively went to her waist to stop her from head-butting him. Her eyes opened at the contact. They were big and beautiful and threated to stare into his very soul, but he didn't look away. Captivating, that's what they were. Her blonde hair was limp with the water, sticking to the sides of her face and neck and onto her dainty shoulders, and he would have given almost anything for this whole thing to be in a different context. He wanted to kiss her, desperately needed to kiss her, but it was impossible. She was taken, and he didn't have any business wanting her. Girls like her didn't get with guys like him. It was just the way the world was.

"Umm, Daryl," she started softly snapping him out of it, and he let go, turning away from her and swimming over towards the other end of the plunge pool, collecting Jeremy who just jumped in on his way.

At this end of the pool there was a little water fall, he swam below it, letting the cool water wash over his head. Jeremy always got a kick out of it too. The child giggled as the cool water splashed over his head. Beth had followed too. She was on the other side of Jeremy now, letting the water run through her long blonde tresses. He'd never seen a woman with more beautiful hair his entire life.

On the other side of the swimming hole Daryl saw headlights. A few trucks pulled up and people started piling out of them. Daryl figured it was about time to get Jeremy and Beth out of here. This was likely to be a rowdy crowd. He wasn't really keen on either of them being around a bunch of drunks.

"Damn, I thought it was too early for the asshats to start showin' up. We better get goin'."

"Do we have to?" Jeremy complained.

"Yeah."

"Awww."

"I'm sure we can come back sometime," Beth assured him.

Daryl swam over to the rock ledge closest to his truck and pulled himself up and out. Then he pulled Jeremy out and then reached back down to pull Beth out. She was struggling a little bit, not having the arm strength he did to get out easily by the rock ledge. He grabbed her just above her waist on each side and easily drew her out; her hands went to his shoulders as he stood with her, depositing her standing right in front of him. He held her gaze for a minute and then she looked away, down to the ground beside her.

_Shouldn't 've done that. She don't want my hands on her. Why the hell would she? Coulda got out just fine on her own. _

"Thank you," she said, looking back to him and giving him a little smile as she walked towards the truck. She got towels out for all of them and passed them out. Then she seemed to remember something and walked back to the side of the sream where she'd deposited her clothes. She bent to pick them up and started dressing, pulling her shorts on first.

"Hey baby, don't go!" one of the asshats called from across the stream's plunge pool.

"Why don't you come on back down here?"

Alright, that was enough. Daryl walked up to Beth, who'd just finished buttoning her shorts and placed a hand on her back to turn her back towards the truck. "Assholes," he murmured.

"Hey man! We can share her!" Laughter broke out.

"Oh Daryl they're just stupid guys. I was ignoring them."

"Nah, they need to shut the hell up, an' I don't want 'em gawkin' at ya. C'mon."

She pulled her tank top back on and climbed into the truck.

-o-oOo-o-

A week and two days later, Daryl sat at the little table in the kitchen kicked back leaning on the back two legs of his chair as Beth and Jeremy finished up cooking the fried chicken and whatever vegetables she had grabbed at the store. This was the third time they'd gone to the store together and Beth's fourth week coming to his place to help with Jeremy. She was back to driving herself and Jeremy to his place. He'd only gotten to pick them up the day they went swimming. Since then, she'd insisted that she drive since he was buying food, and that way he didn't have to take her back to her car and have Jeremy out so late.

She served a delicious dinner as usual, and he eagerly started eating as soon as the food was sat in front of him.

"Miss Beth will you come back to our house tomorrow after school?"

"I can't sweetie, I have a date with my boyfriend, Spencer."

The child wrinkled his nose to show his protest and Beth laughed a little.

"He's my boyfriend. I gotta spend some time with him."

Daryl didn't like it. Not at all.

When he walked her out that night he decided to breech the subject. "You be careful 'round Spencer."

She looked at him inquisitively and stopped walking halfway to the car. "What do ya mean?"

He shrugged, "I just don't like it that you're around him so much. He ain't no good."

"Well how do you know 'im?" she asked with just a touch of sass.

"Went to high school together. 'S a small town Beth, everyone knows everyone."

"Why don't ya like him?"

"'S like I said. He ain't no good. Always got suspended for drugs and fightin' and just bein a violent son-of-a-bitch. Beat the hell outa two different girlfriends he got mad at."

Beth swallowed nervously.

"He ain't hit you has he?"

"No, I . . . it's just unsettling to hear," then much to his dismay she seemed to gather her resolve. "He's changed though. I believe that. He's really nice and he has a good steady job at the bank, and he graduated college."

"You mean his parents bought him a degree."

"Is that what you think about all people with degrees? Daryl, you can't just jump to generalizations and stereotype people based on how much money they have. There is nothing wrong with having a college degree just like there is nothing wrong with _not_ having one. Besides you don't know that his parents paid his way through college. Lots of people work their way through school. And even if they had _so what_?"

Daryl shook his head. "That ain't my point Beth. My point is that he probably got in a shitload of trouble and his parents had to buy his way back in just like they bought his way outa juvie in high school."

"He's changed!"

"Cause he dresses fancy an' works at a bank. Yeah, an' you said I'm stereotypin'. You upper middle class people think you're so much better than the rest of us. You don't get it. Ain't never had to fight for nothin' or worry if there's gonna be food on the table or if you'll be able to make it to the next paycheck or if you'll have a car. Cause if somethin' real did go wrong, Daddy'll be there to cover your ass. I never had that. Jeremy ain't never had that, ain't gonna. I don't ask for help. I don't depend on nobody. Life ain't all sunshine and flowers in the real world, girl." He was in her face now, but she hadn't moved. Her chin was jutted out defiantly and her bottom lip was stuck out a bit more than normal. He could see tears welling in her eyes, but they didn't fall, and she held his gaze, refusing to back down.

"Money ain't everythin' Daryl. You think people who have it don't have problems? That ain't true, and you know it! Money doesn't matter. We are all just people! And I can't believe you think I'm with Spencer just because he dresses nice and works at a bank! That's insane. I ain't some city girl interested in fancy clothes and college degrees! I'm from a small town, too. I grew up on a farm. Yeah, you're right we always had plenty, but not everyone in our town did, and we always tried to help, like I'm doin' here. I know you didn't ask for this, but I wanted to. If you want me to stop then just tell me!"

"Never said that." He took a deep breath and turned away. "'S good for Jeremy, you comin'," he said calmly. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Just be careful around Spencer." He walked back inside, not looking back.

-o-oOo-o-

The next week seemed destined to be a hard one. They'd gotten to visit Linda on Sunday and leaving without her yet again had had a bad effect on Jeremy's demeanor.

Tuesday he asked Beth "When's Mamma comin' home?"

"I don't know Sweetie. It might be awhile, but she's gonna be okay," she picked up the teary eyed child and started singing to him. Her voice was haunting and beautiful, and to Daryl there was no other sound in the world.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Poor Daryl. He's pretty smitten. Bless him. The swimming scene was inspired very loosely by the plunge pool scene in Tuck Everlasting. Obviously it couldn't be nearly as romantic, because these two haven't really got their act together. Well, Daryl sorta has but he still thinks she will never in a million years be interested in him. Poor thing. That scene was also damn hard to write, so I hope it didn't suck as much as I think it does. Ok. That has been said. This chapter was semi-fillerish. I really needed to take some time to build this normalcy that they are getting used to being around each other a lot, and there is a fair amount of sexual tension on both ends. I'm certain y'all caught on to Beth's attraction to him even though it missed him by a mile. She won't cheat on Spencer though. I think that would totally be out of character for her to cheat on Spencer. But I promise all will be resolved. This is, after all, a slow burn. I hope nothing was too cliché. I tend to be a weirdo and think cliché is adorable, but I try to oust it from most of my writing because it's over-done and normal people (I don't fall in that category lol) don't like it. **

**Real quick funny (hopefully its funny) for y'all. So I have been sick for the past two days (I've had the stomach bug from hell) and yesterday I felt so shitty that I didn't write at all and there were some points I didn't even feel like reading. So my sweet precious husband comes into the bedroom and asks how I'm doing, obviously not too great. And he's like "Why don't you read some fanfiction?" He knows I have at least one fanfic open on my iphone. I tell him I don't feel like it, so he's like "You want me to read to you?" and I say no. Then the goober grabs my phone and starts reading out loud. And I'm like "STAHP you're making fun of me!" and then he's like "Do you want me to read it in Daryl's voice? Will that make it better?" Really it's not fair. **

**Ok, so I have A LOT of Bethyl feels right now tbh, so hopefully these chapters will keep coming quickly. I am really excited to start writing the next one. I'd love to hear what you thought of this one and what you are wanting to see in the next chapter and I HOPE I covered everything requested in the reviews. I get feedback on several different sites, so hopefully I didn't leave anything out. That's not a complaint though, like feedback makes my life. Yeah. **

**Y'all are fabulous, thanks for reading my stuff,**

**3 engineergirl86**


	5. September

**Sixty five reviews! I am blown away by the love y'all are showing me and this story! Thank you so much! Also, in my story Maggie is a good older sister who loves Beth and doesn't forget about her. Maggie was one of my favorite characters before, so I'm highly frustrated with her right now, so in my story we have Maggie from season 2, 3, and 4a. Also, I'm pretty hung up on 3 Doors Down right now, so I apologize in advance for using the same group two chapters in a row, but they have been one of my favorites since high school, and their stuff is so angsty it just works for Bethyl and this story. I try to use musical selections that fit the theme of each chapter, so hopefully that is working out and y'all are liking it. **

**Warning: This chapter contains acts of domestic violence. Please don't read it if you think that might bother you.**

* * *

><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 5: September_

-oOo-

"_I'll never find my heart behind someone else. I'll never see the light of day, living in this cell. It's time to make my way into the world I knew, take back all of these times that I gave in to you. . ."_

_-3 Doors Down_ "Let Me Be Myself"

* * *

><p>It had taken nearly an act of Congress to accomplish, but Beth had managed to get Kris, the director of Cradle to Crayons, to approve the backpack program she had been pushing for the past three months. This was the first week that it would be implemented. Several local churches, including her own, were leading the effort to ensure that all of the children in the preschool had sufficient food for the weekend. The churches would bring backpacks full of it each Friday, non-perishable items that would provide nutrition for the little ones in packages that tiny fingers would be able to open without the assistance of adults. Beth knew some of the children didn't eat due to neglect, and the parents were a cause of the hunger rather than hunger just being a result of a lack of finances, though that was ubiquitous as well. All of the children would be taking home food each weekend. Beth had considered requiring some kind of level of need having to be factored into the equation concerning which children would take food home. For example, she knew both Jeremy and Lacy were loved and well fed. She had been here long enough that she got a feel for which children were desperately in need, but it had worked out where there would be enough for each of the little ones to bring home food each weekend, and Beth was eternally grateful. True, she was aware of which ones needed it, and the varying degrees of severity, but there was a sense of calm and ease involved with not having to pick and choose. What if they were only able to feed six children per week? Who was she to say that the seventh child wouldn't receive help because he ate just a tiny bit more than the sixth? No, this was much easier, and there would be no segregation whatsoever if every child walked out with a pack each Friday.<p>

Foremost on her thoughts was Tommy. She worried about him more than any of the others, and had taken to sneaking him some Cheerios home each Friday already. She brought as much food as she could throughout the week for the children to make together and eat. Spending her own money on food for the children was something she did without question, excited for the opportunity to help. But this weekend he would have enough food all weekend long, and that was what made it worth dealing with all the hassle of getting this thing started. The churches had been the easy part, eager to help. Kris on the other hand was faced with a mountain of paperwork already because of being government funded, and she didn't want to deal with it. That wasn't good enough for Beth. She was kind, but firm and persistent, and it had finally paid off. She was so thankful.

Work was going wonderfully in general now. Sasha was thrilled that her brother's girlfriend, Karen had finally been hired, something Sasha had had to deal with Kris to get. Amy was less rushed having another helper to float between the classrooms gave her more time to spend with the children just having fun, and doing less running. Karen had fit in perfectly, too. She and Beth got along well, and they even discovered that Tyrese and Daryl worked together. There was only one Smithville Auto Repair after all. Beth felt odd discussing Daryl more than her own boyfriend when Karen talked about Tyrese, but Beth reminded herself that that was just because the two men worked together.

-o-oOo-o-

Daryl walked Beth out and opened her car door for her as always. It was his way of expressing thanks. She knew he wasn't the biggest fan of small talk, so this was what he did each night rather than say thank you every day she came.

She sat in her car for a moment replying to the four text messages Spencer had sent her. As had become the norm, he was complaining about her doing too much for Daryl and Jeremy. Just the other day, he said they were taking advantage of her and she needed to stop. She'd told him that it was her idea, not Daryl's and she had no intentions of stopping; she wanted to help. "No, this needs to end," he'd said heatedly. At that point she left and went home early. That was Monday, and it was now Thursday. She'd not seen him since, though they had talked on the phone. Neither had really apologized. Beth really wasn't mad at him so much as frustrated. Their conversations had been a little tense, but all couples went through rough spots trying to acclimate to each other. She told herself it would be okay, and they would work it out. If she broke up with him now she was like to never find someone. She just wasn't patient and loving enough. She needed to get better, and she would show Spencer that she could be good to him and patient with him, but not at the expense of helping others, that was her thing. Beth Greene helps people. It's how her daddy raised her.

Spencer's first message said _Call me_. The second was _Call me now about dinner tomorrow_. What was so urgent about dinner tomorrow? They always ate dinner on Fridays at the Diner. There wasn't any news to that. It's just the way it was, unless he was cancelling with her, why did she need to call? Her stomach churned for a second wondering if maybe he was really upset that she'd not noticed his messages. What if she'd messed this up?

The third message was really childish, she thought. _Well I guess you ain't talkin' to me. You better be there tomorrow. _The fourth was laden with coarse language and essentially said that he thought she was cheating on him with Daryl. That was absurd; sure Daryl was had rugged good looks, but she wasn't cheating on Spencer. How could he think she would do that? She quickly texted him and assured him that she would be there tomorrow, promised that she wasn't cheating on him, and apologized for not seeing his messages.

She took a deep calming breath and turned the key over. Her car clicked and sputtered but the engine didn't start. She turned the key back and then over again, more clicking. A light came up on her dash, and she tried to start the car one more time.

"Ugh, honestly." _Check engine. What did that even mean?_ She pulled the hood release and walked around her little car and peeked inside. _Well, there it is. Now what?_

"Need some help?" She jumped at the sound of his voice, not expecting someone to come up behind her.

Daryl smiled a little bit fighting off a desire to laugh at her silly reaction.

"Sorry, I thought you went back inside," she smiled. He always moved so silently; it was probably because he did so much hunting, and it was just habit.

He shrugged, "was, but I heard your car not startin' so I came to see if ya needed help."

She felt embarrassed, but she had no idea what to do about her car. "Um, I don't know what to do so I would appreciate that."

He nodded. "'S prolly just yer battery." He walked around her and sat in the driver's seat, turning the key and listening. "That or yer starter. C'mere." She obliged and walked over towards him.

Daryl stepped up out of the car and slammed the hood shut. "Can't see shit in the dark anyways."

"Get in and steer, I'll push it 'round back near the shed, got a few extra batteries back there. Make sure we don't hit my truck, had that thing for years."

"Wait, you're gonna push the _car_?"

"'S a little car," he shrugged.

"By yourself?"

"I'll go get Jeremy to help if ya don't think I can," he teased. "Ain't like I'm gonna pick it up an' throw it, jus' get in and keep yer foot off th' brake an' quit lookin' at me like I'm superman."

Beth blushed and Daryl only then seemed to realize that what he said sounded extremely flirty. Something seemingly caught his attention across the yard and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly looking away. Beth got in the car, snapping them both out of it. She successfully steered around his old truck and behind the trailer to the shed as he pushed.

"Brake," she heard him say, and she slowed the car to a stop as Daryl stopped pushing. He gestured for her to get out, and after she did he reached into the car and released the hood.

Daryl went into the shed and got out a flood light and hooked it up, attaching the clamp to the side of the car hood so he could see in the dark evening.

"Damn girl, your battery looks like hell."

"How do you know?" she asked as she walked up beside him.

"See there? It's corroded and cracked; the cable's a little frayed. It's probably not wanted to start several times, huh?"

"Yeah, this happens fairly often lately," she shrugged. "Always got it to start before though, just kept turnin' the key til it did."

He nodded. "Alright' I'll change it for ya, 's prolly gonna take twenty minutes or somethin' if ya wanna go inside, or if ya need to get goin' you can take my truck."

"Daryl," she said sweetly smiling at him. "I'm not gonna take your truck."

He shrugged. "I can just ride Merle's bike, ain't nothin'."

_Merle's bike?_ That horrible bike she hated belonged to his brother?

"I'll just wait," she placed her hand gently on his arm. "Thank you."

He nodded at her, squinting in the bright light of the flood light attached to the car.

-o-oOo-o-

Beth took a deep breath and strolled into the Diner, seeing Spencer already seated at the far side of the room. She rubbed her hands over the front of her skirt, straightening it out, her boots clicked on the floor as she crossed the room. The day had been great and she'd sent her kids home with their first backpacks this afternoon. She thought nothing could dampen her mood at that point, but she'd felt a looming sense of dread having not seen Spencer since he blew up at her. She didn't want to argue with him tonight. She just wasn't in the mood for it. Life was too good to waste it arguing, but she was Herschel Greene's daughter, so there was no way she was going to back down or balk if an argument was started. Simply put, she was stronger willed than him, and she would win. She always did.

Beth reached the table and gave Spencer a sweet smile before sitting down.

"Glad you're here, instead of with Dixon."

She didn't reply.

"Thought you might wanna come over tomorrow night, cook me somethin' or watch a movie or somethin'."

"Saturday is my day with my sister Spencer."

"Don't stop you from seein' Dixon every Saturday."

She supposed he had a point there. "That's in the mornin' though. Maggie can't wake up early," she smiled a little thinking of how much her sister hated early mornings.

"Then come see me in the mornin'."

She took a deep breath, "What about Sunday afternoon or evening?"

Spencer cracked his jaw, clearly that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"Beth, it's been what, six weeks you been doing this? How long's it gonna keep going on?"

"Til the boy's mamma gets to come home. She's is in a rehabilitation program right now."

Spencer didn't say anything. "You wanna cook me lunch Sunday an' we can watch the Falcons play?"

"Sure," maybe he would get past this if she kept spending as much time as she could with him.

After that they chatted a little bit about things that were going on at work and around town. It was pleasant to talk with him, and Beth found herself able to forgive him for his outbursts. It made sense that he didn't want to have to compete for her time. It'd just been a while since she had a boyfriend and she had to acclimate herself to the way they act.

"You wanna go to that Fall Fest later this month? That'll be fun," Spencer suggested.

"Yeah, that will be a blast. We'll have to miss coming here though. It's the last Friday in the month right?"

"Yeah. What do ya wanna dress up as?" Smithville hosted a harvest fest every year the last Friday in September called the Fall Fest which really kicked off all things harvest and autumn in the small farming town. Everyone dressed up in Halloween costumes and came out for hayrides, a maze, and all sorts of fun, or so Beth had been told by her co-workers. It sounded great and she was really glad Spencer wanted to go.

"Oh I've got the perfect thing," she said. "I have an angel costume and I'm sure you have something that would work as a cowboy. We could go as a cowboy and an angel like from Dustin Lynch's _Cowboys and_ _Angels_ song!"

Spencer grinned. "Hell yeah, you'll be really sexy in an angel costume."

"Well it's more cute than sexy. I wore it to the preschool I was shadowing at last year in college on Halloween," she shrugged. "Hopefully you'll like it though."

-o-oOo-o-

It was Maggie and Glenn's turn to come to Smithville, as Beth had went in to Atlanta last weekend. After leaving Daryl's a bit later than she had planned she drove home to find Maggie and Glenn already inside her apartment. They'd beaten her here.

She hurried inside, apologizing that she'd lost track of time.

"It's fine Beth," Maggie hugged her. "You spend all the time you want with them. I'm just glad you've got friends here. I can afford to wait a little." Beth hugged her sister and brother in law and the three of them decided to spend the afternoon going to a nearby state park to go hiking.

They chatted amiably while hiking, and eventually Maggie breeched the subject that she knew was bound to come up.

"So tell me about your boyfriend Beth. Is he cute?"

Glenn rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm outnumbered here, should I just hike on ahead, so I don't have to listen to the girl talk?"

That drew a little laugh from both Beth and Maggie. "I promise we'll keep it short," Maggie said sweetly to her fiancé and then looked to Beth for an answer.

"Yeah, he is," she admitted. He had that typical college boy look. "Shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, a nice smile," she said.

"Aww," Maggie cooed. "Is he good to you?"

Beth hesitated. What did that really mean? He bought her dinner and talked to her. He was her boyfriend. "Yeah, he is." The response wasn't as quick or enthusiastic as it could have been and Maggie didn't miss a beat. It was just that Beth couldn't fake the enthusiasm when she was thinking about how he'd yelled at her a few times and cursed her out in that text and how he was always so handsy even when she asked him to stop. His hands had been all over most of her by this point, and she wasn't really sure she was thrilled with that. Why were men so impatient? She was certain that she was slamming the brakes on everything physical more so than most girls, but she'd only ever had two boyfriends, and her parents had raised her pretty sheltered and taught her the importance of abstinence, and she wasn't overly comfortable with the other stuff either. Her inexperience certainly showed. Spencer had often alluded to the fact that they'd been together since July, over two months now. He said it was time for more, but she didn't feel ready for him to be undressing her. She'd never let Jimmy or Zach. Maybe that was why it hadn't worked out with them, maybe she was being too prude for men to wait on her. But she knew that wasn't the case for Jimmy. He was a good boy, always patient with her and he never pushed like Spencer. They were young, and they'd just decided to be friends after a while. Zach had been a bit pushier, but not nearly what Spencer was. Zach always stopped when she asked. They'd eventually broken up too, to be friends. Maybe her physical stinginess had caused that. It was for the better either way, like Jimmy, they worked better as friends.

"Beth," Maggie brought her out of her thoughts. "If he isn't being good to you, you tell us."

Beth nodded, "no everything is fine, Maggie. Really."

Maggie exchanged a look with Glenn. "Well, either way, y'all have been together for over two months. I really want to meet this guy. Can Glenn and I stay tonight and meet him tomorrow?"

"Sure," Beth was thrilled to have her sister staying over. The more time they got together the better.

-o-oOo-o-

The next day Beth called Spencer when she got back from church, she'd dragged Maggie and Glenn with her as well, and told him to come on over, she and her sister would be cooking, and he could meet Maggie and Glenn.

"But babe, I was just wantin' us to have some alone time, ya know?"

"Maybe tomorrow?"

"How 'bout tonight? After they leave."

"Spencer I can't stay up that late. I wanna go to church tonight. Tomorrow will work better."

"I'm last on your list every damn time ain't I?"

"No, that's not true. I thought you would want to meet my family."

Spencer didn't say anything for a second. "Alright, but you owe me some alone time. Tomorrow night come on up to my place, ok?"

"I will. I'm sorry."

They all spent the afternoon together watching the Falcons' game. When Maggie and Glenn were leaving that afternoon, Maggie stopped by the door and looked at her frankly. Spencer had already left when the game was over, seeing that he wasn't going to get to be alone with Beth.

"I don't like him Beth."

Beth was a little taken back. "Maggie, don't be too hard on him. I changed his plans for this afternoon, and I don't really think he appreciated it." She shrugged. Maggie was frowning.

"Just be careful Bethy." Maggie hugged her, then Glenn did, and they headed back to Atlanta.

-o-oOo-o-

After work on Monday, Beth went home and changed into something she hoped Spencer would like but also that didn't look like she was asking for it. That wasn't the message she was trying to send. She just wanted him to know she cared about him. She settled on skinny jeans with her cowboy boots and a fitted tank with a light cardigan over it. She didn't think it really looked like anything special so she switched the tank out for a strapless lacy tank and found a short sleeved tan cardigan that she pulled on over it. She let her hair down and pulled the top half back with some bobby pins at the back of her head. This seemed better. She hoped he would like it, at least.

Beth walked up to his apartment at 6:30 as planned and knocked on the door, he let her in and told her she looked nice. After dinner they sat on the couch and watched some show he was apparently pretty invested in; Beth thought it was ok. She wasn't really a TV person. Spencer slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. She laid her head against his shoulder, and his hand slid down her side, taking his time until he finally reached his destination and grabbed her by the butt. That would have been fine with her, but then he pulled her up to where she was sitting in his lap. She was uncomfortable for a minute, but she knew he wanted her closer, so she let it be. His hands rested on her hips for a moment before sliding under her shirt. She felt him kiss the side of her neck as his hands slid up to push her bra out of the way. It didn't feel like it was supposed to, it didn't feel intimate or good. It felt forced. She knew she didn't want this yet and that fact was prevalent in her mind. She didn't want it, but she let him, because she knew he did want it. Then she felt him push her off of his lap and onto her back, his hands never leaving her chest. He bent over her and adjusted so his weight was on his knees on the couch. He bent down and started kissing her lips, but she couldn't bring herself to kiss back. Then he scooted down so he was lying on top of her, crushing her, and pulled his hands back to start taking her shirt off. She pulled away from the kiss to start protesting, knowing it would take a bit to get him to stop, if he even would. She didn't want him taking her clothes off. She didn't want any of this. She would be fine if they just shared kisses occasionally and held hands. That was all she wanted at this stage.

"Spencer, please don't."

"Shut up."

Her heart thrummed in her chest, what if he wouldn't stop?

She tried to push his hands away as he pulled her cardigan off and threw it to the floor.

"Cut that shit out Beth, it's time."

"Spencer stop it! I'm not ready for this!"

"Yeah, at this rate you never will be. I deserve this. I'm your boyfriend; you owe it to me."

"No I don't! It's my body! Get off of me!"

She shoved against his chest and tried to kick.

He let out a groan and reluctantly stepped away. "Men have needs Beth. You can't keep sayin' no forever."

She stood up and grabbed her cardigan, adjusting herself on the way out and pulling the cardigan on as she walked down the stairs and to her apartment.

-o-oOo-o-

Beth ignored Spencer's texts for the next few days, but reluctantly went to the Diner with him on Friday which really wasn't that exciting. He seemed to want to make amends, but that didn't mean she was excited to see him.

"I really want to take you to the Fall Fest next week; it'll be good for us. I need you to stop this shit with going to Daryl Dixon's though, if you don't do that anymore it'll really help me to know that you're not sneakin' 'round on me. That's why I was so adamant the other night. Wanted you to prove to me that I'm your one an' only."

"Okay, Spencer. I will stop, but I just want you to know that I ain't cheating on you. I wouldn't do that."

"Prove it to me then, quit this shit with Dixon."

She nodded.

-o-oOo-o-

The next morning at nine she called Daryl.

"Hey Beth, you doin' alrigh'?"

"Daryl, I can't make it this mornin'. I'm sorry."

"'S fine, Beth. Everythin' okay?"

"Yeah, um, I better go."

"Alrigh' see ya later."

Beth clicked the end call button and sat on the couch. Tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks. Why did it have to be like this? She loved spending time with Jeremy and Daryl, and why did she have to chicken out? She was going to tell him that she had to stop coming all together, but she was still in denial herself and was afraid it would hurt Jeremy. Maybe she could talk to them after school Monday. She wasn't expected again until Tuesday afternoon. She just didn't want to hurt the child who likely already had abandonment issues due to the absence of his parents. She was thankful Daryl was consistently there for him.

-o-oOo-o-

Tuesday came and Beth was angry. She'd not broken the news to Jeremy and Daryl yet. In fact she wasn't planning to at this point. She'd been sad all weekend, but returning to work on Monday and seeing Jeremy, she knew there was no way she could risk hurting this child, and she really didn't want to lose Daryl's friendship either. He'd bought groceries for her to cook with Jeremy and fixed her car battery without accepting any money. He was a true friend, and she wasn't ready to let that go either. This afternoon she was going to his place. Spencer could just get the heck over it. The Greene family stubborn streak was back, and she wasn't about to balk.

It turned out to be a good thing she didn't too, because Jeremy was having an unusually rough week. She spent most of her time strolling around Daryl's house carrying the child and singing to him as he played with strands of her hair. Old country songs, folk music, hymns, lullabies, or whatever came to her mind, when she sang to Jeremy he would relax and stop crying for his mother. Daryl would just sit on the couch and listen. She was certain it would be the most boring thing in the world for him, but he would put his hunting magazine aside and just listen to her sing. He always seemed to like listening to her. Sometimes he would sit sideways on the old couch, kicked back, looking up at the ceiling with his feet on the other seat, one knee bent at a ninety degree angle, one arm behind his head and chewing on a fingernail of the other hand. Other times he would be cleaning a hunting knife or his big crossbow, and then there were the times that he would just sit and watch her.

-o-oOo-o-

Friday afternoon Beth dressed in her angel costume and attached the halo to a tan headband with little wires and pinned it all in place with bobby pins. The afternoon was still fairly comfortable and in the 60s, so she didn't have to wear a long sleeve shirt under her costume like she was accustomed to doing. That was one of the nice things about having this Fall Fest in September; October could be so unpleasantly cold. She was certain that was part of the planning. The costume was made of a light opaque fabric and covered in tulle. It crossed in front of her chest giving a V shape, but high enough that she was completely covered. A light gold colored cord encircled the dress portion wrapping around her mid-section multiple times, sometimes crossing in the front and sometimes in the back ranging from her hips to just below her breasts. The skirt was light and flowing and ended a few inches above her knee. She put on white semi-translucent tights to cover her legs even though it was plenty long without them. The sleeves were tulle and were cut on top up to her shoulder so that if it wasn't for the connections at her wrist and elbow they would just hang down. She wore strappy gold sandals that circled and wove their way a little ways up her leg. The wings were her favorite part; they were big, but not very heavy, and covered in soft white feathers. Satisfied with the way her outfit looked and checking her make-up in the mirror one last time, Beth walked out of her apartment and up to Spencer's to knock on the door. Looking up at the sky, she couldn't help but notice it looked like rain. It'd been way too hot the past few days for late September for it not to rain. Spencer came to open the door, dressed in an array of clothing that made him look every bit a cowboy. She smiled at him, and he asked if she was ready to go. He didn't seem overly excited about her costume, it probably was too modest for his tastes, but she wasn't about to go to this event dressed like that, so he would have to cope. The wings proved difficult getting in his car, but she managed.

Upon arriving they went immediately to do the corn maze. Beth had been most excited about it. She always loved solving these things, and they had various levels. She wanted to do the hardest one, and so they set off. It proved to be fun but not very difficult because there were so many people in it. Spencer seemed to have liked the maze a little, too. After completing it they signed up for the next available hay ride time slot, which was about an hour away, plenty of time to go pick a pumpkin and enter in the costume contest. She told Spencer he would have to watch the time since he had both of their phones. She had no pockets in her costume, so she had asked him to put it in one of his. They chose a pumpkin and decided to go ahead and take it back and put it in his car so they wouldn't have to carry it around.

Beth closed the trunk after Spencer put the pumpkin in, humming to herself and wondering, not for the first time, if Jeremy and Daryl were here. She doubted it. It didn't really seem like a Daryl Dixon type of thing. Honestly though it didn't seem like Spencer's type of thing either. He seemed to just be doing it for her, which was endearing after all they'd been through lately. She absently wondered if any of her other kids were here; she hoped she would run into them and get the chance to see them here having a ball. Kids loved this stuff more than anything.

"What ya thinkin' 'bout babe?"

"Just wonderin' if any of my kids are here."

Spencer frowned. "You didn't go by Dixon's this week did you?"

Her heart stopped. She wasn't going to lie to him, but she really hadn't wanted to address the subject tonight. This was supposed to be fun.

"Spencer," she sighed.

"You did. Didn't you?"

"Yes, but not on Saturday. Spencer, Jeremy needs me. He had another hard week."

"I told you not to."

"Helping children is my job, Spencer."

"You lying whore! I told you not to go back to his house! Daryl Dixon is screwing you isn't he?"

"No! He isn't!" Suddenly pain shot through her face and she stumbled back. It took her a minute to register that he'd punched her. He grabbed her by yanking a handful of the top of her dress and jerking her towards him.

"I told you that you were spending too much time with him!" She lifted her arms block his blow from landing on her face again, but this time he punched her in the ribs and then again in the stomach. She felt all the air pushed out of her and she went limp.

"Please stop," she managed and he punched her in the face again and then dropped her to the ground and kicked her in the thigh so hard she let out a shriek. Then he kicked her leg several more times, as if he'd not gotten enough satisfaction out of the first. Could no one see what was happening here; was everyone so far away? And the moment she thought it, she knew it was true. They'd parked far out and no one had been around when they got back out here to their car. Everyone was up at the fest now and all the big trucks they were parked near were shielding both sight and sound. He picked her up by her dress again and punched her two more times. The tears were flowing now and she groaned with each hit, but didn't bother calling for help. The punches had been in her stomach and they'd knocked the wind out of her. She knew no one would hear anyways. He shoved her roughly backwards and she fell into the ditch beside the road, hitting the ground hard.

She was dizzy feeling like everything around her was spinning like a top form having hit her head when she landed in the ditch, but she could see Spencer get in the car and fire it up, backing out. He was leaving her here in the ditch. She was almost relieved; there was no way she'd ever get in that car with him again. As she lay there dazed and shaking, starting up at the sky, two things were prevalent in her mind. First, Daryl was right; she'd been a fool for not listening to him, and second, Spencer still had her phone.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the clouds she'd noticed at the apartment were looking even more menacing now. The rain would start any second, and when it did everyone would leave. Maybe someone would see her, but that thought terrified her almost as much as if someone didn't see her. She really didn't think she could handle some random person trying to help her out. She had to think. Carefully, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, head still spinning, and tears still flowing down her cheeks from the pain. Her apartment was on the other side of town. That was three miles from here. She pictured where she was in relation to everything she knew in Smithville. The Fall Fest was south of town a decent stretch from the city limits, not that it was big enough to be considered a city. But she also knew something else south of town, Daryl's house. It was on the way to town from here, and if she guessed right, it wasn't much over a mile from here. Surely she could walk that distance. She would worry about what she was going to say to him when she got there. Her head hurt too much for such things right now. In the distance lightning flashed and this time the thunder boomed right after it. A few rain drops fell and she shakily pushed herself up with her arms and one good leg. The one Spencer kicked repeatedly was useless in pushing her up. Beth managed to gain her feet, but almost toppled back over.

No, she wouldn't fall back down. She was a Greene, like her daddy. Like Maggie. They were two of the strongest people she knew, and she could do this, for them, for her kids. She would make it to Daryl's, one step at a time, and then figure out the rest. Beth took her first step with her good leg and grimaced while all her weight was on the hurt one, then she brought it forward and repeated the process. Step by careful step she walked in the grassy ditch beside the road. She was certain that she wouldn't want to walk in the road because someone might hit her before she was quick enough to jump out of the way, and suddenly the sky opened up and the rain began to fall, beating down on her and drenching her dress and feather wings. She had to look like a fool to anyone who drove by. They would probably think she lived nearby and just chose to walk to the fest and was stupid enough to get caught out in the rain.

Walking was terribly painful, but she tried to block it out. She just had to get to Daryl's then she could sit down. Her whole body ached, so she decided to focus on the positives. She wouldn't have to deal with Spencer being a controlling jerk anymore. She could stare at Daryl's biceps all day long if she pleased and not have to feel guilty about it. She wouldn't have to watch TV with Spencer anymore. She would go back to being alone, but that was okay because she had so many great friends, Daryl being the one she cherished the most, but Lori, Amy, Karen, and Sasha were great friends too. Maggie would be thrilled that Spencer was out of the picture and probably go on one of her over-protective big sister rants and call Shawn, and the two of them would have Spencer beat to a bloody pulp for what he did to the baby of their family. And speaking of things he did, she wouldn't have to tolerate his impatient touching anymore. All of these were good things, so she kept cycling them through her head to keep the pain at bay. It did seem to help a little. Also, her kids were eating this weekend and that was the best thing of all. She couldn't wait until Monday to see their precious faces and sing songs with them.

Her body begged for a break; the rain was unrelenting and the wind was making it terribly cold. The rain itself seemed to be getting cooler as she walked, which she assumed had been about ten minutes at this point and at her crawling pace, she was probably a third of the way there at best. She cycled through her positive thoughts once more, but the wet and pain and cold were starting to win out more and more each time. She thought of sweet memories from childhood and fun times with her high school and college friends. She thought of the children at Cradles to Crayons, and she thought about Daryl Dixon. She remembered the time he fixed her car for her, when he saved her from Tommy's angry father, and especially the time they went swimming. The way he'd looked at her had scared her, but it wasn't like the way Spencer looked at her. It scared her because it made her heart flutter and she knew she couldn't do anything with that. She couldn't allow any feelings between them because she'd been in a relationship. Beth knew she found Daryl to be good looking, but she didn't think she felt anything for him, did she? She'd not allowed herself to go there in thought before. It seemed, though, in the briefest instances, that maybe Daryl felt something for her. That was probably just brought on by his gratitude, though. She'd been the only one to really help him through all of this. Her attention was quickly brought back into reality when she lost her footing and toppled down, her leg having given out. At this point she was shivering from the onslaught of rain and wind, and she forced herself up again, carrying on for as long as she could. Two more falls occurred in the next few minutes and finally she could see Daryl's trailer. She could barely feel her face from the throbbing pain and the cold wind, but she knew she was crying, from joy or pain she didn't know, probably both, but she could see her destination. Once in his yard she fell again, but shoved herself back to her feet and stumbled up to the concrete stoop, taking each of the three steps with pain and difficulty.

Beth knocked on his door, tears still flowing down her cheeks, mingling with the water from the falling rain. Her face hurt so badly where Spencer had hit her, and her stomach and ribs ached.

Daryl opened the door. "Beth?" then he looked her over, and she could see his jaw clench.

"Where is he?" he asked darkly. He reached out and took her gently by the arms and drew her up into the trailer out of the rain. Relief washed over her.

She could see his muscles tensing in his jaw, shoulders, arms, but he still held her gently. She looked down, embarrassed, he'd been right and here she was at his door, asking for help, making herself completely vulnerable. She was ashamed.

He gently lifted her chin so she was looking up at him. "He still at the Fall Fest?" he asked, his words still dark, contrasting the gentle way he handled her.

She guessed it was pretty obvious where she'd come from. Daryl wasn't overly sociable but he certainly wasn't stupid. Why else would she be dressed as an angel?

She shook her head and took another wobbly step towards him, placing her hands flat against his chest. He moved his hands to rest on either side of her waist, supporting her.

"Tell me where he is Beth," he whispered harshly, "I swear he'll regret this for the rest of his life."

"Please, don't. Just stay with me, please Daryl." She was crying again, unbidden.

He let out a little growl and took a deep calming breath that didn't seem to calm him at all. "Alrigh'." But she could tell by the way he said it and the look in his eyes that it was anything but alright with him.

She watched as he carefully placed a hand on the side of her face and ran his thumb over a place that she knew must be forming a bruise, it had been throbbing so. She leaned into his gentle touch, still bracing herself against his chest with her hands.

"You're tremblin'."

She met his eyes. Why was she always trembling around him?

"C'mon, Let's get ya dried off."

She took a little step forward and he seemed to notice her difficulty walking, and moved to slide his left arm around her waist while he reached under her legs with his right, effectively sweeping her off of her feet, and she didn't protest or push away. Beth just laid her head against his shoulder and let him carry her. It probably looked a silly sight, with her wings coming out just above his arm.

They passed Jeremy's recliner and she saw that the child was already sleeping soundly, and she was glad he wouldn't have to see her like this. She didn't really want questions about what had just happened, especially from a three year old.

When they reached the bathroom he sat her on the counter and bent over to get a towel out of the cabinet. He was wearing a leather vest and when he bent down she noticed the wings on the back. She guessed it was just a day for wearing angel wings.

"Will you drive me home in a little bit?" she asked meekly as he stood with a towel. "I know you'll have to wake up Jeremy. I'm so sorry Daryl," she felt the tears trickling down her cheeks again, this time for being such a burden to Daryl.

He shook his head. "Nah, ain't takin' you back there to be in the same building as him all alone. You can forget that shit." He rubbed his hand over his face, like he always seemed to do when he was uncomfortable. "I'll sleep on the couch; you're stayin' here."

"Daryl, I can just lock the door." Why had she told him she and Spencer lived at the same apartment complex? That was weeks ago now when she was telling him how they'd met. She regretted it now.

"Nah, that ain't gonna cut it. If there's somewhere else ya want me to take ya I will. I'll drive ya to yer sister's in Atlanta if ya want, but you ain't goin' back to the same building he's livin' in, you can just forget that." He handed her the towel and took a deep breath. "You'll need somethin' dry t' wear. I'll get ya one of my shirts, but I ain't gonna have no pants 'll fit ya," he was looking embarrassed and perplexed.

She looked down, studying her toes. Her cheeks were warming in embarrassment at all of this. "Um, I . . . your shirt will probably be long enough that I won't need . . . pants." She figured her face was as red as his, and he nodded and took his leave.

He had made up his mind on this no going home thing, and there was no way she was going to ask him to take her to Atlanta to Maggie's this late at night. The thought of going to Lori's crossed her mind, but she really didn't want to show up half-dressed, or wearing a soaking wet Halloween costume, and even if he agreed to take her home to let her get clothes, which she doubted, she really didn't want to show up at Lori's this late at night and worry her and bother her family. Lori's children didn't need to see this. No, she would stay here tonight.

He came back a minute later with a flannel shirt. It looked warm and big and she smiled her thanks. He nodded and closed the door to the bathroom.

Carefully she took her halo out of her hair. Then with a good deal of pain and difficulty she unhooked each of the wings, and carefully unzipped and pulled her dress off. It was soaking wet so she laid it in the sink next to her so it wouldn't get the floor wet. The shoes came off next followed by the tights. They were certainly the most painful and difficult to remove. She thought about leaving them on for added modesty but they were see-through tights, not leggings so there was really nothing to that. Besides they were wet and the bottoms were muddy a bit from walking through rain water. Her bra and panties were wet too but they were thin and would hopefully dry fast. She couldn't really just allow herself to sleep in Daryl's bed with nothing but one of his shirts on after all. She needed to save a little face. She took all of the pins out of her hair and shook it out. It would get curlier now with the rain water in it.

The only gross part of her was her feet and ankles, so she pushed the wet clothes out of the sink momentarily and washed her feet in the sink, getting the mud off, and then put the wet clothes back. By the time she was done with that her underwear had dried a little and she wrapped the towel around her body, carefully drying herself. In the mirror she could see the two places on her face Spencer had hit her. Bruises were raised the size and shape of his fist, one on her left cheek and the other on her right eye. Luckily his hand was big enough that it had caught on her brow bone and cheek bone, not doing any damage to her eye itself. She was glad because she was already ugly enough. She didn't need a black eye added to the list.

Satisfied with her cleanliness and the dryness of herself and undergarments she stood carefully and pulled Daryl's shirt on, buttoning it from the bottom up to the one that covered her chest. She took in her appearance in the mirror and turned to see how far it came down in the back. It was about halfway down her thigh, so she was satisfied with her modesty. She would just have to be careful. The sleeves were way too long, and the shoulder seams were closer to her elbows than to her shoulders. This wasn't overly surprising though, Daryl did have really nice broad shoulders. She felt herself warm at the thought of them.

Now was the hard part. She felt like a high school girl in a swimsuit at a pool party, too afraid to come out of the locker room and let the boys see her. She took a deep breath, telling herself she was being foolish again. She looked in the mirror one last time, seeing her bruises and how her eyeliner had melted a bit in the rain and made her eyes look darker. Thankfully her waterproof mascara had stayed in place. She would have to email the company and tell them she performed a field test, and it went above and beyond her expectations, surviving a rainstorm and crying.

Beth really wished she had some foundation or something to cover up these hideous bruises. Why did she care so much how she looked though? Finally, she sighed and gathered her courage, taking her first step with her hurt leg and grimacing. She opened the door and went to the living room by way of the kitchen, hobbling the whole way. Daryl was sitting on the couch clearly in deep thought when he saw her and instantly stood and came over to her.

"I can sleep on the couch. It's your place."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll be fine."

She nodded. He studied her for a minute. "Will ya tell me what happened?"

She looked down and nodded reluctantly.

"Don't have to, ya know?"

"I know. He, um . . . he told me not to do somethin' an' I did it anyways, because I thought it was somethin' good an' . . ."

"He told ya to stop comin' out 'ere didn' he?"

She met his eyes. This wasn't what she wanted; she didn't want him to know that. Spencer must have whacked her pretty good for her to be stupid enough to think Daryl wouldn't figure it out from what she said.

"This is my fault," he growled lowly.

"No it isn't!" she reached for him and he pulled away from her going into the kitchen. Clumsily, she followed him, glad to be out of Jeremy's earshot hopefully. They certainly didn't want to wake the child up.

"Daryl it's not your fault. You warned me about him bein' like this and I didn't listen. You didn't know he told me to stop comin' here, and even if you did it wouldn't matter."

Daryl didn't look convinced, but he turned to face her. Anger was just radiating off of him, but she wasn't afraid. She knew he wouldn't hurt her.

"Did he say why?"

"You mean why he didn't want me comin' out here?" she blushed and looked away from him, but for once she knew he couldn't guess the answer.

"He um . . . he thought I was cheatin' on him . . . with you."

Daryl's face turned red again but not from anger, and he started pacing around rubbing his face.

He stopped and faced her "See, it is my fault."

"Daryl," she lunged forward throwing herself against him to hug him tightly. "Don't say that. It ain't true." He tentatively placed one arm around her, his body was stiff and hard and motionless.

"He was wrong; I told him again and again that I came here to help y'all," she mumbled against his chest, then looked up at him.

He was looking at her bruises again, she could tell from the look in his eyes. He was angry and sorry all rolled in one, but it wasn't his fault. She had to convince him of that.

He placed a hand on the side of her face and gently traced his thumb over her bruise with a pained expression. "What else did he do?"

"He just punched me and kicked me a lot. Twice on my face, and also on my stomach and ribs, and he kicked me in the leg a lot when I was down. Then he picked me up and hit me again and shoved me in a ditch," she whispered. She hated it, hated telling him, it made her sound weak and pathetic. His face had darkened at her words, and she could see his jaw clench and feel his muscles tighten, stiffening even more in her embrace. His thumb ghosted over her cheek once more.

"He's gonna regret this Beth. I promise you that."

"Daryl," she said soothingly, trying to calm him down. She placed her hands flat against his chest and looked up into his deep blue eyes, so full of mystery and hidden emotion. He held her gaze, looking at her with so much intensity that she felt fluttering in her stomach.

And in a heartbeat it was over. He sighed and stepped back dropping his hand from resting against her face and breaking their trance. "You oughta get some rest," he said.

She nodded and started trying to hobble down the hall, grimacing with the pain and hoping he wasn't watching.

"Here let me help," she heard his voice directly behind her and then she felt him pick her up again, his arm against her back and hooking under her knees. She rested her head against his chest, not allowing herself to think too much about what was happening, or she would blush furiously.

Upon reaching the door to the bedroom, which she'd never been inside before, he kicked the door open gently and walked over to the bed, depositing her carefully onto it, and turning to walk out without saying another word or looking at her. She was pretty sure the back of his neck was red with embarrassment over the situation.

Beth snuggled into the bed and pulled the light blanket and sheet up over her. The bed, the pillow, the shirt she was wearing all held his scent, and she loved it. It was comforting, all oil and sweat and dirt and . . . Daryl. It was so manly and so real, and it wasn't long until she drifted off to sleep, encompassed in his scent.

-o-oOo-o-

Beth woke suddenly to the sound of an engine revving, and the bright beam of a headlight pulling up in the drive. From where she was laying in the bed she could see fairly well out the front window. Daryl was pulling up on his motorcycle. She didn't even realize he'd left. Maybe that hadn't woken her because the headlight wouldn't have flashed through the window on his way out. What was he even doing? She glanced at the clock and it was about two in the morning. What on earth was open at two? Unless he . . . oh no. Beth forced herself to sit up, and she clambered from the bed, opened the door and walked into the living room. Jeremy was still sleeping soundly on the recliner. She hobbled into the kitchen right when Daryl opened the back door and stopped, meeting her eyes.

He apparently decided to ignore the elephant in the room. "What are you doin' up?"

She on the other hand intended to address it head on, "me? Seriously Daryl?" She crossed her arms over her chest, but made sure to show in her tone that she wasn't angry at him.

He looked away from her and she watched as he reached to close the back door. Enough light came through the glass that she could see the swelling of his knuckles and the blood that was covering them.

"Are you okay?"

He looked back up at her and nodded. "Better now."

She gave him a small smile and stepped towards him, taking one of his large hands gently in her two smaller ones to examine the damage.

"I can clean and bandage your hands. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

He shook his head, "Nah, he wasn't worth shit in a fight. He's just a bitch, beats up on smaller women."

Beth got some bandages and antiseptic from Daryl's medicine cabinet, and they both sat down at the table. She pulled his hand over and laid it on her bare leg near her knee. He seemed uncomfortable, but she ignored it and set to cleaning the gashes in his knuckles he acquired from hitting Spencer so hard. When she finished cleaning his left hand she wrapped it in gauze and took his right hand, going through the same motions.

"Where is he now?" she asked tentatively. Daryl clearly didn't like the question.

"Why? You worried 'bout 'im?"

"I just wanted to know Daryl . . . I guess I was a little."

"You gonna go runnin' back to 'im now? Let 'im beat the hell out of you again, blame you, make shit up and pretend it's yer fault?"

"No, Daryl I'm not gonna do that! I just wanted to know that he will be okay, but you're right. He doesn't deserve me thinkin' about him."

Daryl took a deep breath, "he's at his apartment. Probably be okay, I didn't kill him if that's what ya think of me, just beat the shit out of 'im. He's unconscious, broken bones prolly. The dumbass opened the door when I knocked. Thought he was gonna beat my ass. Seems like you wish he had."

"No, Daryl, I'm glad it was the other way around. . . I'm really glad you beat him up. He deserved it. I guess I just want everyone to be okay. I didn't think you'd kill him, I don't think awful things about you Daryl. I was just afraid there would be some permanent damage or maybe an ambulance was needed or something. I just don't like people getting hurt, even when they hurt me. . . but I'm glad you beat him up." She reached and pulled his right hand back to her and held it in her hands for a minute. "I wouldn't be sittin' with him cleanin' his wounds . . ." she said softly, looking back up and holding his gaze for a minute. When he looked down after a little bit she went back to gently cleaning his hand and wrapping it in gauze. He let out a deep breath he seemed to have been holding.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this has been building up for a while. Two of you kinda predicted this/said you were thinking/hoping it would happen in the comments, so I hope it wasn't too obvious what was coming. I'm sure it was after the warning up top, but I needed to give one for this chapter. But honestly we all kinda knew Spencer was bad news and something was going to happen or else Bethyl wouldn't get together. They still aren't obviously, but there has been a huge step in that direction, and Beth is finally able to look at Daryl for how wonderful he is without holding back because of Spencer. **

**Disclaimer: I know zero about auto-mechanics. (My branch of engineering is civil/environmental, mostly water and stuff). That's why the car problems scene is in Beth's POV chapter. I can't fake knowing as much as Daryl does about cars, so I'm writing it in Beth's POV and assuming she is as clueless as me. Also, I do want to cite Auto Repair for Dummies, as this was my reference for this chapter. I had to do research even for the little that is in this chapter. If I messed something up, tell me and I will fix it. **

**I do a lot of sneak peeks for my fics on Tumblr, so if you have a Tumblr account and you are interested, you are welcome to follow me. The link is on my profile near the top. I re-blog tons of Bethyl/TWD stuff, as well as things from the ASoIaF fandom and occasionally some other things (DC, Zutara, Skyeward, Jelsa, outdoors stuff). I post my own stuff too, edits, fic links, sneak peeks, Doll Divine stuff because I can't make original art worth shit (laugh if you want, I am a little girl at heart, I love Doll Divine). That reminds me, I still haven't hidden the Sansan gem in this fic yet (some of you know I put Sansan references in all of my Bethyl fics), so be watching for it because there will be one, those of you in the ASoIaF fandom. **

**Is anyone participating in Bethyl Secret Santa on Tumblr? I'm super hyped for it to start and to find out who I am supposed to be giving a gift to. It will be a one-shot, and I am going to post it to this site so all of my followers can read it too. I will just need to figure out what this person that I don't even know likes in a fic, and until I get the chance to do that I have no clue what it will be about. I'm super excited though! **

**Sorry for the long A/N. I tend to ramble on endlessly. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter. It was a big turning point. I hope everyone liked it despite the predominant presence of Spencer and lack of Jeremy in this one. **

**Thanks,**

**3 engineergirl86**


	6. October

**Daryl's hair: This must be discussed. So personally I tend to think Daryl is at his hottest during season 2 and early season 3, so I tend to picture him like that, with short hair, in my stories, but I don't specify how his hair looks on purpose. I know it's a huge matter of discussion and varying opinion, so please picture Daryl's hair at whatever length that suits your fancy.**

**Welcome aboard the Daryl angst train, and we can't have angst without Breaking Benjamin. Give Me a Sign is literally my favorite song, so you should go listen to it if you haven't heard it.**

* * *

><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 6: October_

-oOo-

"_I can feel you falling away. No longer the lost, no longer the same and I can see you starting to break. I'll keep you alive. If you show me the way. Forever - and ever the scars will remain . . ."_

_-Breaking Benjamin _"Give Me a Sign"

* * *

><p>Daryl felt the light filtering in the window and slowly began waking up, not in any hurry to get out of bed. His sheets and pillow still held her scent and he wasn't ready to part with even that little bit of her just yet. Besides, it was a Sunday, the first day in October, and he was going to enjoy sleeping in. It wasn't something he did very often, just wasn't in his nature, but today he didn't want to move for a while. He just wanted to lay here and reflect on what had happened in the past two days. That was the thing with him; he liked taking time to process complicated things that happen, alone, often in the woods, but that wasn't an option right now because he'd have to take Jeremy with him, and that would defeat the alone part. He liked spending time with his nephew, but he needed this time occasionally. Friday had happened so fast, Beth showing up at his door dressed as an angel, and to him there was nothing more fitting, with all of her bruises and drenched in the pouring rain. His stupid idea of letting her stay and sleep in his bed, he knew it would get in his head, make him think things, but the alternative of taking her home was unacceptable. And it probably would have been okay too, but there wasn't anything for her to wear that was dry, so she'd slept in his bed in one of his shirts. Her scent was still in it, too, and he didn't want to wash it, so he decided that he would put off going to the laundry mat as long as possible so he could savor it, and maybe still wash it eventually so he wouldn't feel like a creep. It didn't even need washin' really though, what'd she done to get it dirty? Nothin' at all. Maybe he'd just wear it.<p>

Yesterday morning she woke up about half an hour after he did, pretty early, and asked him to take her back to her apartment to get clothes and her car, so she could go to her sister's. When he offered to drive her to Atlanta after going by her place, she'd refused him, saying he already went through too much for her. That wasn't true at all in his opinion. He'd drive her to the moon if she asked him, and they built a damn road. It was unsettling to think about just how easy it was for her to get her way with him. Honestly he didn't want to take her back, but he was glad she wouldn't be alone at her apartment at least. Spencer was much less of a threat now, but he still didn't want her out there alone. No, if he had his way, she'd have just stayed at his place all day wearing nothing but his shirt. The thought did things to him. He had to block it out, though. The last thing she needed was him ogling her, but it was really hard not to. Friday night she'd been the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and the bruises didn't do anything to hide her beauty, they just made her more vulnerable, more in need of him. He liked the thought of her needing him. He couldn't stop thinking about how her long blonde hair fell down around her shoulders, silky soft, with loose curls from the rain. Her normally big, bright beautiful eyes were dark and sultry, her lips full and pink and slightly parted as she stared up at him, wearing nothing but his shirt. He'd wanted to kiss her, do more than that really, but he knew he couldn't. The hardest part had been carrying her to bed. He knew it would be awkward, and he'd tried to just watch her go, but she was struggling so much he had to help. Truth was, he'd really wanted to hold her again, and that was the scariest part. He couldn't ever remember just wanting to hold someone before. It was stupid too, how many times did he touch her that night? She probably didn't want some filthy redneck putting his hands on her after what had happened. And yet he couldn't wait until he had another excuse to touch her. After laying her down in the bed he'd immediately gone outside to smoke and cool down. He'd never take advantage of her, but how was he supposed to keep from getting worked up and flustered in a situation like this?

He glanced over at the shirt lying on the night stand now. She'd given it to him after she changed at her place. He'd put the still half asleep Jeremy in the truck and took her early as she requested so no one would see her "state of undress," as she called it, or her bruises. Everyone, including Jeremy had seemed to still be asleep when they arrived at her apartment. He sat on her girly couch hoping his nasty boots didn't track shit onto her spotless carpet. Everything was so lacy and there were flowers and old dishes and shit everywhere. She even had an old quilt rack, apparently full of quilts passed down through the Greene family including the one she made with her late grandmother. She had hurried to change and pack, knowing he wouldn't leave until she did, even when he told her there was no rush. After about twenty minutes she came out of her room wearing jeans and boots and a blue flannel shirt that actually fit her over a pink tank. It was pretty clear she'd put makeup on too, covering the bruises as best she could. Jeremy had slept, sitting on his leg and leaning against his chest almost the whole time. He finally stirred when they were leaving and was very excited to be at Beth's house. He told them that he didn't want to leave yet because he was supposed to get to see Miss Beth on Saturday. Daryl was really impressed that he knew what day it was. He knew Beth had been working with the children on the days of the week, and it seemed she was good at teaching children. She wound up reading a book to Jeremy as he sat on Daryl's leg on the couch. Daryl hadn't paid much attention to the story, but rather how close she was sitting to him to read to the child. He could feel her arm and leg against his own. When she finished the story she returned his shirt to him, and thanked him for everything. She hugged Jeremy and headed out for Atlanta. The rest of the day had pretty much been a drag. Daryl wasn't really one to be mopey, but yesterday he had been after Beth left.

He got up and reluctantly put the flannel shirt on, feeling half a creep and half ridiculous and wondering, not for the first time, if she'd been wearing anything underneath it or not. He cursed himself for being a perverted redneck asshole. It was just a shirt. It didn't matter. It just happened to smell like her perfume, that was all.

She would be coming back from Atlanta late this evening, and Daryl had asked her to stop by when she got back. Thankfully she'd agreed without asking why he asked. He still wasn't keen on her being at her apartment by herself, but if he could at least drive her out there, walk her inside, and make sure her door was locked when he left he'd feel a lot better, not as good as if she were to stay here, but better nonetheless. In the meantime he meant to take Jeremy hunting. There were still nine days left in bow season, and he intended to bring home at least a twelve point buck. The little eight point he got two Sundays past hadn't really been that impressive, and he was a little pissed about not getting a bigger one. Today he was getting an incredibly late start, but there was still next weekend if he didn't get anything. Hunting had been interesting this year, with Jeremy having to tag along, but the kid was having a blast, so it was worth the difficulty. He went to the living room and woke Jeremy, asking if he wanted to go hunting. The boy eagerly agreed.

-o-oOo-o-

"Miss Beth! Miss Beth! We got a fourteen point buck!" Jeremy articulated carefully when Beth pulled in and got out of her car. He ran towards her, expecting her to pick him up like she usually did, but she stooped down to hug him instead. Daryl knew she wouldn't be able to pick the kids up for a while until she healed. It pissed him off so bad that Spencer would hurt someone as innocent and caring as Beth. Daryl was sitting in a plastic lawn chair cleaning his crossbow and watching as she walked up, and trying to hide just how excited he was to see her as well. He'd eagerly awaited her arrival since they got back home with his kill.

"So venison for dinner for a few weeks?" she teased.

"Hell, yeah." It was about time he killed something that big. He felt strange hoping she was impressed. What did she care how good he was at hunting, she probably didn't give a damn about it or thought it was awful like so many women seemed to.

"Did you kill it with your crossbow?"

"Yeah, 's bow season right now."

"Oh, is bow season your favorite?"

He shrugged, "reckon it probably is. Like all huntin' though."

"I've never even shot a crossbow."

Daryl smiled a little, "I'll teach ya sometime."

"I have shot one Miss Beth," Jeremy added. Her eyes got really big, and she looked over to Daryl.

"You've let him use a weapon?"

"Ain't dangerous if ya don't do stupid shit with it."

"He's three years old Daryl; can he even hold that thing to aim it?"

"I propped it up on a hay bale, let him pull the trigger and shoot targets in the back yard."

"Oh my goodness," she just shook her head.

Well so much for impressing her, that was shot to hell now.

An hour or so later, after Beth had played cars and made buildings out of blocks with Jeremy Daryl approached her to ask if they could talk for a minute. Jeremy had been getting really quiet and tired and wasn't like to raise too much fuss if left to play alone for a few minutes.

Beth followed him into the kitchen.

"Beth I need to ask somethin' of ya. 'S why I asked ya to stop by here tonight."

"Sure Daryl, anythin'"

"I know it ain't my place to tell ya what to do, but I think ya ought to let me drive ya home tonight, and pick ya up in the mornin'."

"Daryl, Spencer ain't gonna bother me no more."

He shook his head. "Nah, you don't know that, an' I don't know that. I don't want him around ya when yer alone. It'll just be for this week. I told him Friday when I went over there that he had one week to get out of here or" he glanced over at Jeremy making sure he wasn't listening, "or I'd make him wish he had. 'Til then you'll be livin' in the same damn place as him, an' I don't like it, but if ya lock yer doors like ya said, maybe it'll be okay, but I wanna make sure you get in an' out okay."

Beth's features softened as she listened to him explain, and then she gave him a little smile. "Okay."

Daryl nodded. He was expecting her to resist, but it seemed she wasn't going to, and for that he was grateful. He watched as Beth walked back over to Jeremy and knelt down next to him.

"Jeremy," the child looked up at her with tired eyes, and she brushed his hair back gently, "sweetie, Uncle Daryl is going to drive me home tonight, so let's get your jacket and shoes, okay?"

"Why are we taking you home?"

"He just wants to make sure I get home safely."

Beth went to tying the child's shoes and Daryl got Beth's coat for her, handing it to her as she stood still with some difficulty.

Jeremy stood and reached up for her to pick him up. "Sweetie I can't pick you up right now I'm sorry."

Daryl picked him up before he had the opportunity to ask too many questions. They had silently agreed to make sure Jeremy never learned of anything that happened to Beth the other night.

Outside Daryl sat Jeremy in his car seat. "If you buckle him in for me I'll get your bags."

It amazed him how Beth could be gone one night and need two duffle bags full of who knows what. He put them both in the floor in his truck in front of Jeremy as Beth finished buckling him in, and they went around to the other side. He opened the door for her and climbed in after her.

Jeremy fell asleep within minutes on the drive, and neither Beth nor Daryl said anything for a little bit. Then out of nowhere Beth sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you Daryl, for taking care of me."

Daryl didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything, and that seemed to be okay with her. Beth just kept still and quiet with her head leaning lightly on his shoulder as he drove.

When they arrived she sat up, and Daryl got out and got Jeremy out of his car seat, and leaning the sleeping child against his shoulder. Beth reached to pick up her bags, but Daryl grabbed them before she could get the chance.

"I can get somethin'."

"Nah, go on."

Beth led the way to her apartment and unlocked the door. Daryl sat her bags down by the door to her bedroom, and started back towards the door. She followed him.

"You don't have to run off," she said with a little smile. "Do you want somethin' t' drink or anythin'?"

"Nah, 'm fine." Jeremy was still sleeping on his shoulder. "I better get home an' put him to bed."

Beth nodded and rubbed Jeremy's back. "He's so tired from huntin' with you today. He had such a good time. He told me all about it. It's really good for him, you two doing things together. You're a lot better at this than you give yourself credit for Daryl."

Daryl nodded and looked toward the door. "Call me if ya need anythin'. Don't matter what time it is. If he gives ya any trouble at all. . ." Daryl had found her phone on an end table when he went to beat Spencer's ass Friday.

"Daryl, I'll be okay."

He nodded and opened the door. "Just make sure it's locked. I'll pick you up at seven."

She nodded, smiling. "Goodnight Daryl."

"Night Beth."

-o-oOo-o-

The next morning Daryl picked her up as promised. Jeremy was excited by the whole thing as was to be expected. He drove Beth and Jeremy to the preschool and dropped them off, then went to work. At work he decided he wanted to take Beth to dinner in Palmetto, the next town over that was a bit bigger than Smithville, to an Italian restaurant he'd herd good things about. He wasn't sure what he brought on the desire to do so, but she'd had such a rough week he just wanted to do something nice for her.

He headed to the preschool and sat in the parking lot, waiting for 5:30. She worked 7:30 to 5:30 to his 8:00 to 5:00. He knew her job had to be exhausting and she was in no shape to work all day and then try to cook dinner for him, as she often would do with Jeremy.

At 5:30 she walked out the door smiling at him and holding Jeremy's hand. After getting Jeremy settled in his car seat and closing the passenger door, Daryl stopped to talk the Beth out of the child's earshot.

"How ya feelin'?"

"I'm okay, still pretty sore, but making it. I didn't tell anyone, but I think Lori and Karen know, and if Amy and Mary don't already they will soon. I really didn't want to talk about it, but I can't really keep it from them with all the limping around and not being able to pick the kids up." She shrugged, "It's my fault anyways for not listening to you."

"That ain't true Beth."

She smiled a little, "What would you like for dinner? Cooking for you is the least I can do for all the trouble I have brought on you."

"Ain't no trouble at all. 'Sides you need t' rest, thought I'd take you to dinner in Palmetto," he mumbled the last part, but she seemed to have heard every word.

"Why Daryl Dixon, are you asking me on date?" she pulled that deep Southern Scarlett O'Hara accent of hers, that she seemed to save for moments like these, to pretend to flirt with him when he felt awkward. He wasn't sure if she was trying to make the situation less tense or more tense for him, but it always seemed to result in the latter.

"Nah, jus',"_ just what? You're hurt and I don't want you having to stand and cook me dinner, and I want to do something nice for you._ "Figured you're sick of eating at the Diner, an' ya don't need to be cookin' for me in your condition."

She gave him that little knowing smile of hers and climbed into the truck.

He made the twenty minute drive to Palmetto with extensive questions on Jeremy's part.

"Where are we goin'?"

"Palmetto."

"What's Palmetto?"

"A town."

"Why are we goin' there?"

"To get dinner."

"But there is food at home."

"Jus' gonna try somethin' new."

"Why?"

Daryl was stuck at that one, but thankfully Beth jumped in to save him. "We thought it might be fun to try something new. Don't you like to try new things?"

"No."

Beth laughed a little. "What about all the things we cook at school? You like those and they are new things sometimes. Remember carrot cake? You didn't want to try it at first but then you liked it."

Jeremy looked perplexed at that statement, not knowing what to ask next. Then it suddenly hit him. "Are we there yet?"

"No," Daryl supplied.

When they finally did arrive at the Italian restaurant he'd heard of, he was taken aback. It looked fancy as hell. No wonder he'd never eaten here before, just heard of it back in town. It was supposed to have the best Italian food in the state, west of Atlanta, and that seemed like something Beth would like. Only now he had half a mind to get back in his truck and drive home and eat venison and some canned corn. People were wearing ties and collared shirts and shit he didn't even own. He didn't belong here. But he looked over at Beth and couldn't find it in himself to back out now. These rich assholes could just get the hell over it. He was going to eat here in his ripped, oily, greasy mechanic's clothes and they could go screw themselves if they had a problem with it, and he'd gladly tell them that, too.

They walked in and the hostess asked how many would be dining.

"Three," Daryl replied, holding onto Jeremy's hand so he didn't run off in this huge ass building.

"Daryl this looks expensive," Beth whispered to him.

He shrugged, "I'm buyin', don't worry 'bout it."

She gave him a look that said he was doing too much for her, and they followed the hostess to a booth. Jeremy sat with Beth and immediately went to work on the coloring sheet the hostess provided him. Hopefully this would be good for Jeremy, too.

When the waitress came Daryl ordered sweet tea and spaghetti, not knowing what half the shit on the menu was, and Beth ordered some fancy noodle thing. They ordered Jeremy some cheese ravioli and Daryl hoped he would eat it. Jeremy was used to the same kinds of food he was, and he hoped he'd eat this fancy stuff.

After they ordered, Daryl realized he had nothing to say and he could barely bring himself to make eye contact with Beth. Italian romance music was playing in the restaurant and it gave the whole setting a certain feel that Daryl wasn't overly comfortable or familiar with. Beth was doodling with Jeremy on his coloring sheet, drawing flowers and different girly things around the edge as Jeremy colored the giant dog and Leaning Tower of Pisa on the center of the page. The dog had one of those Italian hats on and was sitting beside the tower. There was also a map of Italy and one of those gondola boats in a stream running along the bottom of the page. Jeremy had colored the boat red, purple and orange, and the dog was green with an orange tongue and purple hat. Beth's random doodles around the edge made the whole thing look even more bizarre, but Jeremy was always one to want someone to color with him, so Beth had eagerly obliged him. But all of that didn't stop her from looking up at Daryl occasionally and giving him these little smiles that he had started seeing from her more and more recently. He always looked away when she did it but that didn't stop her from doing it again.

"Daryl," she said after a little bit, "thank you, this was really sweet of you." She reached across the table, and laid her hand on top of his, and he made himself keep it there, relishing in the feel of her soft skin.

They brought the food after that and Daryl had to admit it was some damn good spaghetti. Beth seemed to like her noodle thing, and even Jeremy ate most of his ravioli.

When they got back to his place on the way inside she was struggling with the steps, and it'd been too damn long since he held her. Before he could talk himself out of it, he was standing in the middle of the steps and taking hold of her around the waist, and turning to set her down again on the top level. He stepped up to join her, his hands still resting on her waist and hers still resting on his shoulders. She was holding his gaze again, giving him that look from the other night, the vulnerable needing one. Her eyes were soft and her lips full and slightly parted. He wanted nothing more than to claim them in that very moment, but it wasn't possible. He didn't have any business kissing her, much less touching her. Reluctantly, he let go and stepped around her.

That night when Daryl took her back to her apartment, he leaned against the door frame, holding Jeremy in the other arm and watched as she sat her teacher bag and purse down and walked back over to where he was standing. She was smiling that sweet smile again, the one that melted him and terrified him at the same time. He fought back the urge to step back or bolt when she stepped right up to him and rested her hands on his chest. Without missing a beat, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek and then stepped back to meet his eyes.

"Thank you."

"Me too!" Jeremy jumped in, effectively killing the moment. Beth let out a little laugh and kissed the boy's cheek as well.

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

She nodded.

"Goodnight."

"Night Beth."

-o-oOo-o-

The rest of the week went by quickly for Daryl, too quickly if truth be told. He liked seeing her every day, and especially liked it when she pressed a kiss to his cheek every night when he dropped her off. The only time they saw Spencer was in passing Tuesday night and Daryl had positioned himself between the piece of shit and Beth and Jeremy, daring him to even look her way. By Thursday night, Spencer's car wasn't even sighted and Daryl was fairly certain he had gotten out of Dodge. That was all well and good, but he still picked Beth up Friday morning just in case, and now, Friday afternoon had arrived, his last day of taking her to and from work.

Her hair was down long and she was wearing more makeup than when he dropped her off that morning which he found a bit odd. She looked beautiful though, even though he didn't think she needed more makeup, he loved her hair down long.

When they got home she immediately set to working on dinner, undeterred by Daryl's insistence that she didn't need to cook for him.

"I haven't cooked for you all week Daryl. It's the least I can do, besides Jeremy is going to help me and it'll be fun for us, so go do something somewhere else because it's a surprise."

"Yeah a surprise!" Jeremy echoed.

So Daryl spent the afternoon changing the oil and brake pads on his truck, Beth's car, and Merle's bike. Beth's car had been sitting in his yard all week after his insistence that he drive her home, so the least he could do is fix it up for her after being so demanding.

Right as he was finishing up with the bike, Jeremy came sprinting across the yard. "Dinner is ready!" he yelled as he ran towards Daryl.

When he stepped inside Beth greeted him with a smile. "What have you been doing?"

"Changed yer oil and brake pads for ya."

"Daryl, you've got to quit doing things for me, I can't keep up. C'mon, dinner is ready."

Daryl walked over to the table and sat down. In front of him was a plate full of the most delicious looking food he'd ever seen. Fried chicken, potato casserole and yams. He immediately started eating as Beth got Jeremy to sit down. It was the best fried chicken he'd ever had and he made sure to tell her and thank her for making it for him.

-o-oOo-o-

Truth be told, the next two weeks flew by, too. They'd gone back to their normal schedule, which in Daryl's opinion was less favorable because he got to see her so much less, and now here it was, the Thursday before firearms opening weekend, the one good thing about late October. He felt like an ass because he was actively dreading early November. That was when Linda was coming home and all of this would come to an end. There would be no more reason for Beth to come over in the evenings. That was something he didn't like to think about.

Beth was sitting on the arm of the recliner, singing to Jeremy and gently rubbing his hair as he drifted off to sleep. Thankfully his tears had finally dried up, the poor little guy had a rough day. It'd been a few weeks since he cried for Linda, probably because Beth had been over so much lately. Daryl sat on the couch listening and hunched over his deer rifle, cleaning it so he could go hunting with it Sunday morning for firearms opening weekend. He loved listening to the sound of her voice.

"_They hung a sign up in our town "if you live it up, you won't live it down." So, she left Monte Rio, son just like a bullet leaves a gun. With charcoal eyes and Monroe hips she went and took that California trip. Well, the moon was gold, her hair like wind. She said don't look back just come on Jim. Oh you got to hold on, hold on. You got to hold on. Take my hand, I'm standing right here. You gotta hold on."_

Daryl groaned and sat straight up to rub his back. It was hurting like hell today; he'd spent most of the day bent over a Corvette some rich asshole hadn't kept up. The damn thing was in horrible shape and it was so low to the ground that he'd had to bend over it and it'd caused his back to be aching all night. Then he'd had to move a shitload of heavy stuff near the end of the workday and it hadn't helped the situation at all.

"You okay?" Beth asked him as she stood up. Jeremy seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Yeah."

She took a step towards him. "Is your back botherin' ya?"

"Ah, 's fine, jus' kinda sore. Ain't nothin'."

She stepped closer to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder and slid down onto the couch behind him, sliding her hands onto his back. Daryl reflexively jerked away at the contact, but didn't stand up to move away from her.

"I can rub your back if you'd like."

"Nah, 'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she kneaded the muscles by his shoulder blades. "I'm really good at giving backrubs, though most of the backs are much smaller than yours and belong to children who can't seem to go to sleep."

He willed himself to stand up and get away from her, but he didn't move, and she'd seemed to take his silence and stillness for an affirmative response. So she started working her way down his back kneading his tired, stiff muscles with her thumbs. It felt great despite the lack of sensation he had in the skin on his back. He could still feel the pressure she was applying perfectly well.

"You're so tense," she whispered bringing her hands back up to work on his shoulders. He flinched at the contact when her delicate hands came in contact with his shoulders, but she didn't seem to mind his awkwardness. The feeling of her hands on him was addictive, and now he didn't want her to stop. He had to fight back the urge to moan as she kneaded his tight shoulder muscles. She started humming as she worked her way down his back.

"Why don't ya keep singin'? Sounds nice."

"I figured you were tired of hearin' it."

"Nah, I like it."

"Okay," he couldn't see her face, but he knew she was smiling, could hear it in her voice.

_"Well, he gave her a dimestore watch, and a ring made from a spoon. Everyone is looking for someone to blame, but you share my bed, you share my name. Well, go ahead and call the cops. You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops. She said baby, I still love you. Sometimes there's nothin left to do. Oh you got to hold on, hold on. You got to hold on. Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you got to just hold on."_

Daryl let himself close his eyes and relax, listening to her hauntingly beautiful voice and enjoying the feel of her hands on his back.

"_Well, God bless your crooked little heart St. Louis got the best of me. I miss your broken-china voice. How I wish you were still here with me. Well, you build it up, you wreck it down. You burn your mansion to the ground. When there's nothing left to keep you here, when you're falling behind in this big blue world. Oh you go to hold on, hold on. You got to hold on. Take my hand, I'm standing right here. You got to hold on."__  
><em>

"Mmmm."

"Feel good?" she laughed a little.

"Yeah, you are good at this."

Her hands reached the bottom of his back, and she stopped, lightly hanging onto the bottom of his shirt.

"Your shirt is awful thick," he could hear the hesitation in her voice, "i-if you take it off, I can probably do a better job."

Daryl felt adrenaline rush though him, and he jerked away from her. The fact that his shirt was so thick was _the only_ reason he was allowing this to happen.

"Nah, I'm good," he stood up, turning to look at her. She looked horrified, as if she'd done something wrong. How could he show her that it wasn't her fault?

"Daryl, I'm so sorry."

"'S fine." He came back and sat down in front of her again, trying to keep from hurting her feelings, and missing the closeness to her already.

"How 'bout you just keep doin' what you were doin'? It felt good."

He felt her tentatively go back to rubbing his shoulders._  
><em>

"_Down by the Riverside motel, it's 10 below and falling. By a 99 cent store she closed her eyes, and started swaying. But it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music. Well your old hometown is so far away, but, inside your head there's a record that's playing, a song called Hold on, hold on. You really got to hold on. Take my hand, I'm standing right here, and just hold on."_

After a few more minutes Beth stopped and slid out from behind him. "I better get going."

"I'll walk you out."

Once outside she leaned against her car and turned to face him. "Heard anything from Linda, when she might be coming home?"

_Was she getting sick of coming over? _

"Shouldn't be much longer, first week of November or so, then ya won't have to do this no more. Things 'll go back to the way they were before."

She frowned. "Daryl, I love doing this."

He was relieved, and before he could stop himself he was saying "Well maybe you don't have to stop when she comes back. Maybe we keep doin' this. . . 's good for Jeremy." His hand was resting on the car beside her shoulder and he was leaning forward putting some weight on it so he was leaning over her just slightly.

She placed her hands lightly against his chest. "I would really like that," she whispered softly. And maybe he imagined it, but it almost seemed like she leaned forward just a little. Her eyes were dark and sultry and gazing into him seeing deep within him. His attention was drawn to her lips as she wet them with her tongue, not even realizing she'd done so. He looked back at her eyes and held her gaze for a second as she glanced down to his lips and then back up, and it took every ounce of will power in his being to not kiss her then and there. He wanted to, wanted to pin her against the car and kiss her until she was gasping for air and then carry her inside to his bed and take it as far as she would let him. But he didn't move, and after a second she let out a sigh and stepped forward pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight Daryl."

"Night Beth."

-o-oOo-o-

Halloween was on a Tuesday this year, and that meant Beth would be coming over that day. She insisted on taking Jeremy trick or treating. When the day arrived she showed up with her angel costume and a firefighter costume for Jeremy.

"Uncle Daryl are you gonna wear a costume?"

"Nah, I don't do costumes." Daryl did at least change out of his work clothes and put on a flannel shirt and his leather vest along with some old black jeans.

When they felt it was dark enough, they headed out, walking down the street to a nearby neighborhood where they could go to a bunch of houses in quick succession. Daryl waited by the end of each driveway as Beth took Jeremy up to the door of each house. By the time they reached the back of the neighborhood Jeremy was getting extremely tired. Daryl watched as Beth picked him up after he received candy at one house. She carried him back to the road, his little head resting on her shoulder.

She smiled as she reached Daryl. "He is pretty tired; we should probably head back."

Daryl reached and took the half asleep child from her and started walking back. After a few minutes he felt Beth reach for his hand and intertwine her fingers with his. It was an unfamiliar feeling to him, but definitely one that he liked.

When they reached Daryl's house Jeremy woke back up, eager to start eating his candy. Daryl sat him on the couch with the candy bucket and let him go to town on it while Beth changed in the bathroom. When she came out she was wearing jeans tucked into her boots and a yellow tank with a thick tan knit sweater that was completely open in the front hanging over her shoulders and arms like a jacket. Her hair was hanging down loose and curly and Daryl thought she looked stunning.

He was jolted out of his thoughts though when she rushed over to the couch and snatched Jeremy up, away from the bucket of candy. "Daryl, how much candy have you let him eat?"

"I dunno, he was eatin' the whole time you were changing," which had notably taken a while, "I wasn't watchin'. 'S Halloween; kids eat a shitload of candy today." He was looking at the pile of candy wrappers on the couch. It was admittedly a pretty damn large amount. She'd been changing for a really long time and now her hair looked completely different, so maybe if she'd not spent so long in the bathroom Jeremy wouldn't have eaten so much candy, not that he was blaming her. To Daryl this was just something kids did on Halloween. He might never have gotten presents from Santa as a child, and his folk sure as hell never bought him a costume or plastic pumpkin bucket, but he didn't live under a rock. He would find a plastic bag in the trash and go from house to house and gorge on the candy afterwards. His mom never even seemed to notice his absence, and his dad only beat him for it two of the years he went. He looked back at Beth who was fussing over Jeremy.

"Sweetie, are you feeling sick?" The boy shook his head, confused as to what had gotten her so worked up. She shifted him onto her hip, and he grabbed the fabric of the top of her shirt, like he often did with Daryl's when he held him. Only Beth's shirt was much flimsier, and when he grabbed hold of it, it was pulled all the way down exposing her lacy bra. She turned scarlet red and quickly pulled the child's hand away and readjusted her shirt, but it was too late. Daryl had seen, and it wasn't something he was like to forget anytime soon. In her haste to correct her tank top, her sweater had fallen off of her shoulder and she'd not even bothered correcting that. She looked up at him for the first time, looking flushed and beautiful. The horror and embarrassment showed in her eyes. He'd just seen her whole breast barely covered in a thin low cut lacy bra, and she knew he'd seen. She quickly put the confused child down on the floor and wrapped her sweater tightly around her and crossed her arms over her chest. Daryl was fairly certain he'd not moved at all this whole time and he was frantically trying to fight off arousal and figure out what to do or say. Suddenly she turned and started walking quickly back towards the bathroom.

Daryl stepped around Jeremy and followed her, quickly catching up to her and grabbing her by the upper arm and spinning her around to face him. He had apparently done so too forcefully because she had to put her hands out and brace them against his chest to avoid slamming into him.

"Where you goin'?"

"I'm jus' getttin' my stuff. I'm gonna go home."

"Why? 'S barely seven thirty."

She gave him a look, her face red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry."

"Why? It was an accident. Ain't your fault, and it sure ain't somethin' t' be sorry for."

She met his eyes for a minute and then looked down. He was still holding her by the arms to keep her from bolting.

"I just can't seem to stay decent around you Daryl. You probably think I'm an awful-"

"Stop, I don't think that at all about you. Shit happens." Why was she apologizing to him? It wasn't like the sight had upset him. In fact it'd been quite the opposite.

She gave a little forced laugh, "It was stupid of me, runnin' here and askin' you for help after all that went down. Walkin' 'round here not even wearing any pants like I own the place, making you take care of me and kicking you out of your own bed. You did so much for me. You shouldn't have, it wasn't your fault. Then this happens, and I'm just humiliated. Please Daryl, I just wanna go home."

"No, I don't regret doin' any of that for ya. I don't want you sayin' your sorry cause I ain't sorry . . . you don't have to be humiliated Beth, its ok. You didn't do anything wrong. You should stay," he let go of her arms thinking he'd said too much but having so much more he wanted to tell her, if he only had the words, but it didn't matter. She deserved better than him anyways.

She was looking up at him, her cheeks slightly pink from the blush that had colored her features. "Okay. I'll stay a little while longer."

He nodded, glad he'd been able to stop her from leaving. "C'mon," he jerked his head back towards the living room and she followed him there.

When they got there Jeremy was sitting in the floor surrounded by candy wrappers with chocolate smeared all over his face and two Reese's cups stuffed in his mouth. He looked up at them, his face the picture of guilt. Daryl couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So Beth had a little embarrassing moment there. Has that happened to anyone else? It's happened to me. Luckily not in front of a man, though. I hope this chapter was up to par. I will admit I had a little trouble writing it as I sometimes do with Daryl's POV. Like what does Daryl think about and do when he's not working and there are no zombies to kill? He's with a kid, so there aren't a whole lot of things that he could do that he seems to allude to in the show that he did before (ie following Merle around and being a jackass) and with Merle in prison his bad influence is gone. He's trying to do good for Jeremy and Beth, but I can't really see him sitting around watching TV or cooking. So, I have him hunting and cleaning weapons and working on cars, even while he's not at work because Daryl seems like he'd be a work-a-holic to me. I was saying something similar to my husband this morning and telling him how hard it is to get in Daryl's head for a long chapter with no zombies to kill, and he was like "I bet real world Daryl thinks about beer and Beth naked." Well, it doesn't get much blunter than that, so I credit dirty minded Daryl to my husband, at least partially. I was already kinda going down that road, but that really reinforced it. The beer/drinking thing was really addressed in a previous chapter, and I didn't feel like Daryl would be getting hammered at any point in this chapter, because he's Jeremy's sole caretaker.**

**My ZA alternate ending to this story, On Borrowed Time, picks up at this point in the story if you want to check that out later.**

**The song Beth sings is Tom Waits "Hold On" which she sang in 3x11.**

**Please let me know what you think about this chapter. I really hope everyone was in character, and y'all liked the sexual tension. That's always fun. **

**Thanks,**

**3 engineergirl86**


	7. November: Part I

**My A/N pep talk from before, if you haven't seen it yet. A reviewer asked me not to delete it as I had originally intended **_Hi everyone, how are you coping? Not well if you're anything like me. I hope I can encourage you. We need to hang in here and continue to support the ship. It was cannon. He loved her, that is indisputable and I believe she loved him too. Let's keep writing and reading and showing our love for this beautiful relationship. The WORST thing we can do right now is drop it and run. I am an extremely curious person, so yesterday I went to a Bethyl/Beth hate page to see what they were saying/doing. As can be expected they were rejoicing. Which is sick, but they were also saying things like "It's finally over, Bethyl is dead now and all the Bethylers will finally stop." Um, wait a minute. . . Why should we stop? So many ships live on after cannon diverges so far from their possibility that it's not even fathomable. Some of them never happened in the first place (Zutara), only in the hearts of the fans and yet they have huge followings. In some ships both are dead (Rhaegar and Lyanna). In some one has sworn vows to never take a spouse (Jon and Val). In some one is presumed dead and the other was forcibly married to someone in the family responsible for the death of her loved ones (Sansan). Horrible things happen in cannon. And yet all of these ships that I have named and countless more live on in the hearts of the fans. In what way is Bethyl any less worthy of such everlasting support? If anything, it is more worthy, more beautiful than any of these. I will never stop shipping Bethyl. Norman Reedus said once Daryl finds love, it's for life! He'll never love another. I believe Daryl will love Beth and only Beth until the day he dies. I don't think he'll move on. Their love was that true and that pure and I don't want him to move on. It would sell short everything she was to him. This relationship is nothing shy of beautiful pure true love and I will never stop supporting it. _

_And having said that, I am doing something that I have never done before and will never do again, because I believe it is needed. I am updating this chapter in the purpose of sharing this A/N with you. Why? Because I need to post something, need to let you all know that I am here, and I'm not jumping ship, not dropping my Bethyl writing or this story. In fact I will probably write more. But as fate would have it, I am having one of the busiest work weeks of my life and tonight I am driving to Nashville to see some of my friends that I haven't seen since college. Now, I don't live in Nashville, so that will take my entire evening. It's highly likely that I won't be able to post any complete chapter until this weekend, and when I do I will delete this one and upload the actual November chapter. Until then I leave you with the two paragraphs I have written as a teaser and the promise that I am also re-writing the ending to the MSF in which Beth survives. I will post both as soon as I am able. _

_Just hang in there. We will make it through this. We'll keep showing our love for this beautiful ship. _

_Bethyl forever!_

**So I just want to thank you all for all the support you have given me through this hard time for all Beth and Bethyl fans. You are truly the best fandom I have ever been a part of. It's such a loving happy place and I am honored to take part. **

**Since so much of this story takes place at Daryl's house, and because I am a nerd with an engineering degree and have a strange sense of what is an enjoyable way to spend my time, I have made a plan view drawing of Daryl's house which will be very useful for this chapter. Beth will be describing the layout a bit, so you might want to take a look at it before you read. The link is on my profile under The Walking Dead and All in Good Time. You may have to scroll down a tiny bit. I forced myself to not put dimensions on it, but everything is to scale. Yes I am a nerd. If you are reading on your phone I don't think you'll be able to see the link. Googling engineergirl86 tumblr and then looking at my recent posts should do the trick. You'll have to tap the picture to enlarge it, but you should be able to see everything fine then. I was able to see it all fine when I brought it up on my phone. There are some other links I've posted recently to my profile since the events of Coda. The petition is there and a few other things. Just check it out if you want. **

**I want to apologize for not being able to update as often. The week of Thanksgiving I think I posted something like 3 chapters in one week. I was only able to do that because of the work hiatus. I won't be able to do that again until Christmas break unfortunately, so updates will be coming slower, and I hate that. I really want to update more often for y'all. I also promise to quit posting such lengthy A/Ns. So in the spirit of that, without further ado, I will hush and allow you to read about Beth crushing on Daryl. And those of you who are Jeremy fans will love this chapter. **

* * *

><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 7: November: Part I_

-oOo-

"_Could you fall in love with me? Love is such a mind blowing mystery. I know you're very busy, and the terming's not quite right, but I would take a bus on a late Sunday night to see you, to see you. Could you be my boyfriend? Boys are such a big book that I've barely read. I know that you're much older, and you've had many lovers, but there's no place I'd rather be than underneath the covers next to you, next to you, and I'm telling myself to be patient, and I'm telling myself to wait. 'Cause when it comes to your love I over anticipate. . ."_

_-Emily Kinney_ "Over Anticipate"

* * *

><p>It was a stupid idea, and it was way too cold to pull a stunt like this, but she had to do something or this would never go anywhere. Her sweet mamma would probably fall over if she knew what innocent little Beth was planning, but she blocked that thought out. She had to be daring, had to take this into her own hands, had to do it before it was too late and all was lost, and while her courage was still hot. No, this wasn't something she did on a daily basis. It might even send the wrong message, but she had to try. Had to, or she might lose him, and it was getting difficult to wait. She felt like she was falling, hard, and if he didn't catch her, when she hit the ground it was going to be painful.<p>

She packed her bag, not letting herself think too much about it. It was supposed to be the warmest day of the week, but in November that only got you so far. She was going to freeze, but maybe there was a way to work that out in her favor. Anything to help her deal with this stubborn, clueless man.

She went back to the bathroom and fixed her hair into a neat bun and clipped a bow into the back of it, but she made sure to bring some hair gel and a brush for redoing it later. She smoothed out her skirt and headed out the door, pulling a sweater on over her long sleeved shirt in the chilly morning air. Hopefully it would warm up a good bit by this afternoon.

-o-oOo-o-

Truth be told, the workday went by entirely too quickly. Beth assumed that it was because of how nervous she felt mixed with the fact that she absolutely loved spending time with her kids, but there was definitely a part of her that was excited to see Daryl. She grabbed her teacher bag and the one she'd packed this morning, took Jeremy's hand, turned off all of the lights in the room, and closed and locked the door.

"Miss Beth, I get to see Mamma again today!"

"Yes you do sweetheart."

"And today is the best because you are coming too!"

She squeezed his little hand lovingly and smiled at him. It had been three days since Linda had been released from rehab, so Jeremy was no longer staying the night at Daryl's. However he did still need to go to Daryl's in the afternoons because Linda was able to get her job back as soon as she came home. That was something Beth was very happy about. Linda made a mistake, a big one, and it wasn't okay at all, but the Diner was owned by a family in Smithville, and in a small southern town, everyone helped everyone out. They all knew each other, and no one was about to leave Linda hanging out to dry. She needed that job to get her life back in order. So when she was released on Monday afternoon, Daryl had picked Jeremy up from school and went to meet her, so she could spend the evening with her son. Tuesday Linda went to work, and Beth took Jeremy out to Daryl's house and spent the afternoon with them. They'd agreed awhile back to keep this going. Around 7:15 Linda had come to pick Jeremy up and as soon as they were walking out the door Daryl had looked to her and said, "I'll see you Thursday." So he'd been expecting her to leave when Jeremy did. Honestly she'd not really thought it through to that point, what she would do when Jeremy left. She gracefully grabbed her things and Daryl walked her out to her car. She pressed a kiss to his cheek like always and headed out. Only the whole thing felt wrong. She'd not wanted to leave. Had he wanted her to? She was just so confused by him. He was the one who'd asked her to keep coming over in the evenings, and she quickly reassured him that she did indeed want to do so. He was so hard to read. The things he did seemed to contradict each other. At times she thought he was falling for her, and at times it was like he didn't want to even be around her. Why was he so difficult? She knew the looks he'd been giving her. He had wanted to kiss her on several different occasions, and whenever he could he would touch her, never inappropriately, just these sweet little caring protective touches like when she was having a hard time walking. He'd lifted her up the steps and left his hands lingering on her waist for a minute as he looked into her eyes. Then he would just step away as if she'd imagined the whole thing. He gave her those looks that day they went swimming, and especially the day she'd come from the Fall Fest, after Spencer hurt her. He was so protective and gentle with her and he always did these little acts of kindness for her.

The night that had confused her and hurt her the most was when she had given him a backrub, and she had all but begged him to kiss her out by her car, but he hadn't. And she couldn't understand why. Was she truly so undesirable? She thought he was interested, and when she made herself vulnerable to him, he'd shut her down. Sometimes the thought of it hurt her worse than Spencer's punches had. She'd tried to show him that she wanted more than just a friendship with him. That she was interested in him, falling for him. In fact she couldn't remember having fallen this hard ever before, and it was completely unexpected. It just happened all of a sudden, starting when she came to him for help that night and he'd treated her so carefully and that whole week afterwards. Really, he treated her like a princess, taking care of her in everything and barely letting her lift a finger. It wasn't that she couldn't or didn't want to do things for herself, it was just his expression of caring about her that made her fall for him. The way he carried her around and the looks he'd given her had only sent it into overdrive. Daryl Dixon wasn't the type of man she expected to have a crush on either. And this was one serious crush. She thought about him every waking moment of the day and sometimes even in her dreams, and she would never forget the night she slept in his bed surrounded by his scent. It warmed her to her very core.

He had to be holding back; she just knew he did, some of his reactions were just so telling that he had feelings for her, and then he would hold back, again and again. It really did make her self-conscious, and she started wearing more makeup when she was around him; she'd put it on at the end of the day before going over to his place. Eyeliner, mascara, darker eye shadow, anything to make her eyes look more smoldering like they had that night in late September, her eyes darkened by the eyeliner melting in the rain. He'd really noticed her that night. She knew he liked her hair down, too. That's why she started wearing it down and wavy, like it had been that night in the rain. She wasn't sure if it was working or not though. He seemed to notice her and watch her, but he just never did a thing about it. That's why she had to do something daring like Karen suggested, take matters into her own hands.

Tuesday at the end of the day she was going through her usual routine of applying makeup and fixing her hair in the little makeup mirror on the inside of the door to the coat closet in the classroom while Karen played with Jeremy.

"You know," Karen mused, not even looking away from building a tower with the child, "sometimes you just have to make the first move. Take things into your own hands and do something brave, show him what you want, and that it's okay for him to want it too."

Beth felt her cheeks color. "Oh? I um . . . is it that obvious?"

Karen looked over at her and gave an apologetic smile.

"What's obvious mean?" Jeremy asked.

Beth laughed. "It means it's easy to see," she addressed the child. "Karen is that how it was for you and Tyreese? Did you have to give him a little push?"

Karen smiled, "No, Tyreese chased me like crazy until I finally gave up and just went out with him, but not every man is like that Beth. I've grown up in the same town as you-know-who and he certainly isn't outgoing enough to chase a girl like you. He's interested for sure. I've seen it in his eyes every time he's in here. You're just gonna have to give him a little push."

"Miss Karen is you-know-who Uncle Daryl?" Jeremy inquired.

Karen smiled at the child and Beth laughed. "Nothin' gets by you does it?" Karen asked the child.

"Nope, Uncle Daryl says Dixons are the best at watchin' for stuff . . . or somethin' like that."

That was Tuesday, and now in her car two days later Beth was intending to use Karen's advice. She buckled the child into his car seat, and got in, checking her makeup and hair in the mirror one last time before pulling out of the parking lot.

"Miss Beth why do you change your hair to see Uncle Daryl?"

She felt herself blush, unsure how to answer the child. He was so sharp; he didn't miss anything she or Daryl or any of the other adults did. But how was she supposed to answer him? She really wasn't fond of adults lying to children, aside from Santa Claus and surprise parties and such, to get them to hush up; she'd always thought that was so demeaning to the children.

And before she lost her nerve she said quietly, "Because I want him to think I'm pretty." She'd practically whispered it, the phrase itself so whimsical and full of naivety that it shamed her in its childishness.

"He does think you're pretty," the child responded and Beth looked over at him and she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you sweetie."

"Miss Beth, do you love Uncle Daryl?" Jeremy asked with an impish smile.

This one should have been the more difficult to deal with, but she knew what to do here. "Of course I do, and I love you too." She bent over and kissed the top of his head at the next stop sign.

"Hey!" the little boy started wiping the top of his head with his hand trying to wipe the kiss away.

When they arrived Daryl was out back at his shed chewing on some deer jerky and splitting logs with an axe. Beth wasn't sure why he was doing such a thing, but she would be the last person to ask him to stop. The way his muscles flexed each time he swung the axe and split the log perfectly made her weak in the knees. And she longed for the feel of those muscular arms being wrapped around her. Thank God for sleeveless shirts. Daryl seemed to always wear them, even in the chilly November air.

She got out of the car and got Jeremy out, and Daryl split one last log before laying the axe down. "You don't have to stop because of us," Beth said with a sweet smile, trying her hardest to be nonchalant about the whole thing. "We can just stay out here and play while you work."

Daryl nodded and picked up the axe again, then grabbed another piece of log, standing it upright, lifting the axe over his shoulder, and bringing it down again to split the log perfectly. Beth got a blanket out of her car and spread it on the ground while Jeremy went into the house to retrieve his action figures and toy animals.

It was really hard for her to pay attention to Jeremy and the plastic toys with Daryl not eighty feet away doing one of the manliest things she'd ever seen. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't sexy and distracting. But she wanted to be good to little Jeremy so she only allowed herself a glance over at Daryl every few minutes, directing the majority of her attention to the child.

After another half hour or so, and no telling how long he'd been doing it before she arrived, judging by the pile of split logs it had been quite some time, he finally leaned the axe against the shed to take a break. He walked over to the blanket they were setting on and lowered himself down to lay on his back on the other end of the blanket from them, his knees bent at ninety degree angles so that only his feet and back were touching the ground.

"Oh, does Superman need a break?" she teased sweetly. She was never going to let him live down, what he'd said to her the night he pushed her car behind the house. _Quit lookin' at me like I'm Superman _he'd said. They'd both blushed at the time, but looking back on it, it was probably the flirtiest thing he'd ever said to her, so she was going to use it as often as possible to get some kind of reaction from him. It was all about being pro-active, Karen had said. It was a strange thing to Beth. She'd never been the one to take the first step before.

He shot her a look clearly trying not to react, but she could see the smile he was fighting off barely turning up the edges of his mouth, and his ears were red. He looked away and brought a finger to his mouth to chew on the short nail like he often did at times like this.

After a second she asked, "Would you like something to drink? I'm going to get something for me and Jeremy."

"I c'n get it." He started to stand up but she got up quickly. "No, you rest. I'll get it. You want sweet tea?"

He nodded. She was getting to know what he liked at what times. There were always beers in the fridge, but she'd never once seen him drink one. She assumed that was because she was always there when Jeremy was. She really respected that he didn't drink around his nephew. In the afternoons he would always drink sweet tea from the store he went to for all of his groceries. On Saturday mornings it was always orange juice with extra pulp, something she personally couldn't stomach. Honestly why would you want all of that stuff in your drink? But nonetheless she was getting good at knowing what he wanted and when, and speaking of such they still hadn't had dinner. He'd gotten another deer recently, so maybe he would want some venison stew or something. There were still some vegetables in the fridge that she had gotten last time they went to the store that she could use, and stew would save for quite some time, so he could eat that instead of those awful frozen dinners and just deer jerky while she was away for a few days, that made her think. What about Saturdays? Nothing had been said about what would happen on Saturdays. She assumed they wouldn't be a thing anymore because Jeremy wouldn't be here, so there was no point. The thought saddened her.

Once outside she knelt down on the blanket closer to Daryl than she had been before and he sat up to take the glass of tea from her. She gave Jeremy his apple juice box, having already put the straw in it and took a drink of her water.

"Stew for dinner?" she asked Daryl.

"You don't have to Beth."

"I want to, but let's just enjoy fresh air for a while. I love sitting out here."

Tentatively she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, waiting for him to shift away. When he didn't she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. Jeremy was sitting across from them playing with a plastic tiger and a giraffe that'd only moments ago been engaged in a battle of epic proportions, and were now best friends.

Jeremy looked up at them, and Beth should have known, should have seen it coming, but she'd been so excited by the opportunity to be close to Daryl that she didn't think.

"Uncle Daryl do you think Miss Beth is pretty? She wants you to think she is pretty."

They instantly jerked away from each other and Beth couldn't even bring herself to meet his eyes. She felt him looking over at her after he jerked away. Suddenly he stood up and walked in the house, and for once she didn't stop him from running. Right now she wanted to run too. That had been immensely awkward. Her face was burning red in embarrassment. Maybe she shouldn't have been so open with her feelings when talking to such a smart little boy. She looked over at the child who looked devastated, thinking he said something wrong.

"Miss Beth, I said a bad thing?" he asked. "Is Uncle Daryl mad at me?"

The look on his face broke her heart and she pulled the child to her. "No sweetie, you didn't do anything wrong. You just made Uncle Daryl feel awkward. You put him on the spot. One day you'll understand."

"I don't understand." He was clinging to locks of her long blonde hair in his little fists again like he always did when she held him.

"One day you will." She hugged him.

"I just wanted him to tell you that so you would be happy." She hugged the precious child again. "Thank you, sweetie. I am happy. You make me happy, just being you. Now let's go start dinner and maybe if it smells good Uncle Daryl will come out of hiding. What do you think?"

"Yeah!"

-o-oOo-o-

Sure enough when Beth took the lid off of the hot venison stew and started ladling servings into bowls, Daryl emerged from wherever he'd been, likely cleaning knives in his bedroom with the door locked. He was such an introvert. Most people might think cleaning knives while hiding in remote parts of the house is creepy, but Daryl just liked taking care of his weapons, and not talking to people. It was something she'd learned about Daryl Dixon very early on. He was so pensive, too; she could tell he was always thinking on something even though he wouldn't say a word.

When he entered the room he went directly to the table and sat down without giving her as much as a glance. That just wasn't going to work for her. He was going to get out of this awkward state or else. She sat the stew and tea in front of him.

"I made some rolls, too. Would you like one?"

"Can get it," he mumbled standing and trying to step around her. She stepped in front of him to try and stop him. "I can-" she started, but he was already moving forward, so she bumped into him, his hands going to catch her around the waist, so she wouldn't fall back. She would have just stepped back and caught her balance, it wasn't like she was going to fall to the ground, but any excuse for him to hold her was good in her book, so she wasn't about to complain.

"Careful," he mumbled.

She flattened her hands against his chest and looked up into his eyes. They were such a deep blue and slightly hooded as he stared down into hers. She watched as he looked at her lips again, and she closed her eyes and parted her lips, and just as she expected him to kiss her, she felt him let go of her and step around her to get a roll from the oven. It hurt, but not as badly as last time. Jeremy was sitting right here, and she really didn't want their first kiss, if it ever came, to be in front of a three year old, but she definitely would have settled for that scenario if need be.

She straightened her clothes to give her hands something to do, now feeling like the awkward one. Then she sat down and started eating her stew, not really an easy thing to do when she was so anxious. After what seemed like forever, Daryl finally came back to the table and sat down with a few of the little rolls on his plate. He started eating without meeting her eyes or even looking up for that matter. She frantically searched for something to talk about to help this awkwardness pass. Normally she was fine with his silence, but now she wanted this to go away or it was like to ruin her plans. The best option, it seemed, was to just talk to Jeremy, so she started a conversation with the little boy, as he munched on a roll, about what they would be doing at school tomorrow and next week. Fridays were always the most fun, and the children actively looked forward to the events she and her assistants would plan. Tomorrow was to be their Veteran's Day party as Saturday was the actual holiday. Everyone was going to wear red, white, and blue and they were going to make a giant American flag out of packaging paper and finger paint. She and the other teachers would paint the children's hands and show them where to put red, white, or blue handprints. Then there would be the words 'Thank You' that would also be filled with handprints to hang below the flag. In the afternoon they would have a party.

Not once during her conversation with Jeremy did Daryl speak, though he did look up at them occasionally, which she decided to take as a win. About the time they finished eating, she heard a knock at the door and Daryl went to let Linda in. Beth cleaned up dinner as quickly as she could as Jeremy ran to his mother's arms and she thanked Daryl for picking him up.

"Ain't no problem."

"Bye Uncle Daryl and Miss Beth!" Jeremy called.

"See you tomorrow Jeremy!" Beth waved to the child as she put the last dish in the dishwasher.

Daryl walked out with them, though Beth noticed that unlike when he walked her out, he didn't walk close to Linda and open doors for her, no Daryl walked out with them for Jeremy's sake. The thought of all of that and the few minutes he was outside gave her the courage and opportunity to put her plan into effect. She grabbed her bag and practically bolted to the bathroom, changing clothes as quickly as she could. She'd borrowed Maggie's black Lynyrd Skynyrd tee that she'd cut the neck out of so that it was wide enough where it would hang off of one shoulder when pushed to the side. The bottom of it was cut where it showed her tummy, but all the essentials were completely covered. She was going for sexy, not slutty and desperate; there was a line there that she didn't want to cross. The second piece of the puzzle was the shorts she'd worn the day they went swimming. Daryl had been staring at her legs, they'd both pretended that wasn't the case, but she knew it had been. She wore jeans or leggings or knee length skirts most days, and even though she wasn't the tallest person, she had long legs, and her petite frame made them look longer because she was slender. It wasn't something she used to get attention before, in fact she only wore short shorts a few times each summer. But she was going to have to go all out for this one, so she was pulling out all the stops she had. For shoes she had a pair of black cowboy boots that she didn't wear too often because most of her stuff seemed to go good with brown, but they seemed to be the perfect finishing piece for her 'get Daryl's attention' outfit. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves. She didn't have time to chicken out now; she had to get out back before Daryl got back inside to see what she was doing. Being as quiet as possible, she leaned against the door of the bathroom to listen for any sign that he may have come back in the house in the twenty seconds it took her to change. She'd literally thrown her clothes off and jerked the new ones on.

She couldn't hear a thing, but he moved so silently she could never be one hundred percent sure. It was going to be taking a chance, but that was what she had, so Beth quickly slipped from the bathroom and ran through the hall to the back door, flinging it open and back closed. The whole thing felt scandalous and a bit exciting. Thankfully he'd not come inside as she slipped through the house. Just now she could hear Linda pulling out of the driveway and that meant Daryl was on his way back in. Perfect. She slipped over to her car and tossed her stuff in the passenger seat and then crept back over to the motorcycle and climbed onto it. It was freezing out here; this better work. The quickest way to get a man's attention, she knew, was to touch something he treasured that he didn't want anyone else bothering. That was how she intended to get his attention in the literal sense of the words. Figuratively, it was going to be left up to flirting, a different kind of flirting than she was used to. Beth was cute and sweet, and that's how she'd always flirted, trying to be cute and sweet, and it'd always worked, but it hadn't with Daryl Dixon. It was a very passive way of flirting, always waiting for the man to make the first move. But what Karen had said on Tuesday got her thinking, and that's why she drove to Maggie's house on Wednesday afternoon to ask for advice. Maggie's first comment had been 'Haha! I knew you liked him.' To which Beth quickly responded, 'Hush and help me. I have no idea how to do this.' The idea itself was Beth's, but she needed some pointers on how to actually go through with it, and Maggie had eagerly given her best advice and provided Beth with the shirt she requested. It just seemed like something Daryl would find attractive. She felt half naked, but she reminded herself that at least she was wearing pants this time around, small as they may be.

Beth nervously fumbled with her hair, making sure it wasn't too tangled, laid some of it over each shoulder, and then took a deep calming breath. She had to do this now. Using the instructions she found on Google she attempted to start the motorcycle. Why did it have to be so complicated? There was the ignition switch, shifting, setting the choke, pulling the clutch, pressing the starter button, all of these steps, and she must have messed something up because she heard the engine clicking, and it even made a sound sort of like it was starting but the thing never fired up completely. It didn't matter though; maybe just hearing the engine rev up would get him to come outside.

Suddenly, before she was ready really, the door opened and she saw Daryl step outside, holding his crossbow at his side. Quickly she struck the pose that Maggie had told her about, remembering not to overdo it and make it look like she was posing. She leaned back just slightly putting some of her weight on her left hand behind her, the one closer to Daryl. She arched her back slightly; Maggie had said that would make her assets more prominent on both ends and give her a more curvy shape. 'Just don't overdo it' Maggie had said. 'If he knows you're doing it, it's just going to look desperate and needy.' She rested her other hand on the handle bar just to have something to do with it. She put all of her weight that wasn't on the bike on her toe, pointing her foot in her black cowboy boots, 'always pointed toes' Maggie had said, 'it makes your leg muscles flex and they'll look tighter.' And she had to do all of this without Daryl knowing or any of it being obvious that she was trying. Luckily it was dark outside and he couldn't see her well so she had a second, but he was approaching her.

"Beth . . . the hell are you doin'? I couldn't find ya, thought somebody took ya an' was tryin' t' steal my-" he got close enough to see her, or rather enough to see what she was wearing in the starlight ". . . bike." She felt his eyes rake over her, his ears turning red and he swallowed.

He cleared his throat and looked away for a minute, crossbow still hanging in his hand. "What are you doin'?" He looked back at her.

She shrugged, causing the sleeve that was balancing on her shoulder to fall off, baring it, acting like everything was perfectly normal, just like Maggie had told her. 'Don't let him know you've set it up or that you're tryin' to be sexy. You've gotta act innocent about the whole thing, like you have no idea what you're doing is sexy. I know you'll be good at that part; you've always been the best at playing innocent.'

"I jus' wanna go for a ride, will you take me?" she asked in her sweetest most innocent voice, making sure to bat her eyelashes at him. She'd always been good at using her eyes to get what she wanted.

She didn't realize the double meaning of what she'd said at first, but when Daryl's whole face flushed she realized what she'd said, and how he'd taken it. Really it was her fault that he was being dirty minded, so she couldn't really blame him. Daryl looked away and around again after staring at her for a minute. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Don't think that's a good idea," he managed.

"Why not?"

"You ain't dressed for it for one thing."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she got off of the bike to walk towards him, doing so as gracefully as she could, giving him a little impish smirk and her most flirtatious look.

He took a step back as she advanced towards him, making sure to sway her hips. It seemed to work because his eyes went to her hips and he took another step back.

"Beth what are you doing?"

"What's wrong with my clothes Daryl?"

"You're gonna freeze your ass off in that shit." He took another step back, but she kept towards him.

She shrugged, "you'll keep me warm."

He started retreating again, slowly taking backwards steps, his face completely flushed.

"Besides, you don't have any sleeves," she added when he didn't respond.

"Ain't gonna ride a damn bike in November with no damn sleeves though, but yer missin' a helluva lot more than sleeves."

"Please," she gave him her most innocent look, "I've never ridden on a motorcycle before. I just wanna see what it's like. I needed to change out of my work clothes. I can't ride in that skirt." Seeing how uncomfortable he looked gave her confidence to keep this going and not chicken out.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he finally said, but she could tell how much he was struggling. The thought that she could have such an effect on him was enthralling. She took a few steps forward and to the right but turned as she walked so that she kept facing him. Now her back was to the house and they were facing each other, equidistant from the bike which was now on his right and her left just a few yards away.

She decided to change the subject, raise the stakes a bit with her increased confidence. "What do you have your crossbow for? She continued stepping around him so that now his back was to the bike as they faced each other.

"Protect what's mine."

"Does that include me?" she stepped towards him now, swaying her hips and giving him a flirtatious grin as she bit down on her bottom lip. She watched as he stepped backwards, all of his muscles tensing nervously. His frame was covered in hard muscle and she couldn't wait to run her fingers over it. Rubbing his shoulders and back a few weeks ago had nearly driven her insane, she'd even gone as far as to ask him to take his shirt off, but she couldn't afford to think of that now, she had to focus.

When he didn't answer after a minute, as she'd expected, she continued getting closer to him and added "You said you were afraid someone took me. What would you do if they had?" She waited for a second to see if he'd answer and when he didn't she continued "would you chase after me and fight off the bad guys and save me? Be my Superman?" She reached him, even as he was backing away, and rested her hands on his chest, smiling and turning her head just a bit to give him a flirtatious look. He didn't say anything, just stared at her lip with hooded eyes as she bit down on it.

"Then I would want to thank you." She slid her hands up to his shoulders and pushed lightly, just enough for him to know she wanted him to sit down sideways on the bike so that he was facing her, and he obliged. She stepped between his legs to get closer to him, now looking down at him rather than up, though just by a few inches since she isn't very tall. His hands finally came to rest on her bare waist as he dropped the crossbow beside the bike, his eyes still hooded as he looked up at her.

"Besides, I never got to thank you for takin' care of me last time."

"You don't owe me nothin' Beth," his voice came lower and huskier than normal when he finally spoke.

Before her nerves could get the best of her, she stabilized herself by hanging onto his shoulders, both for physical and emotional support, and slid her right knee up over his thigh so she was resting it on the bike next to him. She felt him tense and tighten his grip around her waist. So, he wasn't pushing her away; he really did want this, and with that added confidence she slid her other knee over hanging onto him for stabilization so that she straddled him.

"Beth," his voice was husky.

"Hmmm?"

"I don't think you know what yer doin'."

"I do."

"I ain't got no business bein' with you like this. You deserve-"

"Kiss me," she breathed. "Please Daryl."

His hands tightened around her waist and she felt him pull her closer as he leaned forward pressing his lips to hers without hesitation. With her sitting in his lap they were right at the exact height. She quickly returned his kiss and slid her hands around to the back of his neck, pushing her fingers up into his hair. His kiss was passionate, throwing all of his previous hesitation out the window, and in no time she felt his tongue licking at her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She opened her mouth allowing his tongue in and kissing him back with fervor. He pulled her even closer to him as she ran her fingers slowly through his hair, relishing in the feel of his kiss.

"Mmmm, Daryl," she moaned.

He growled, her moan only making him kiss her more hungrily. She felt him drag his hands up her sides, taking in the feel of her and she pulled her hands down from his hair to feel the hard muscles in his shoulders. They were so tight and hard, it felt like a dream. She took his bottom lip between hers and gently sucked on it drawing another groan from him, and his hands slid back down her to grab onto her hips and bottom. She leaned back to run her hands down his muscular arms, but as she did it threw them off their precarious balance perched on the side of the bike. It started to fall towards the side they were on but Daryl quickly stood, picking her up with him with one arm and shoved it back upright with the other. She locked her legs around his waist to make it easier for him to hold her up, and he quickly brought the other arm back around to hang on to her.

"Mmm, my Superman," she teased smiling against his lips as he brought them back closer to hers.

She felt him smile back against hers, "you ever plannin' on lettin' me live that down?"

"Hmm, probably not, but I would be willin' to hear your argument."

He just smirked at her and kissed her again, picking up where they left off and not bothering with buildup, his tongue moving against hers. She let her hands trail down from hanging onto his shoulders to graze over his flexed biceps. They were even bigger when he was holding her up because he had to keep them flexed. Then she felt him start walking and she grabbed on to his arms for support, loving the feel of his hard muscles below her fingers. She pretty much just clung to his biceps because his arms were too big around her hands to begin to go around them completely. Clumsily as he kissed her, he made his way up the porch steps and opened the door to the house.

She noticed after a second that he was walking toward the bedroom, and she was suddenly afraid she'd been too forward and sent the wrong message. She wasn't asking for sex. Had she implied that? Probably, she began to get angry and frustrated with herself. She wasn't ready to go this far yet, but she'd been so desperate for anything, that she'd sent the wrong message to him. He really must think she is trashy, easy.

He must have felt her react to where he was walking them, because he stopped and pulled back from kissing her.

"Hey, we'll stop whenever you want, even if that's now."

She shook her head, "No I just . . . you must think I'm an awful tease."

"'S fine Beth. Didn't think this was goin' all the way. Think I know ya a little bit better than to expect that. Was just tryin' t' take you somewhere more comfortable an' warm. You were shiverin' out there. . . d' you want me t' put ya down?"

"No!" her reaction was instant, grabbing onto his arms to make her point very clear.

He smiled a little, then said "still don't know why ya want this with me. You deserve better. I ain't got no right t' even touch ya."

"Why not Daryl? That doesn't make any sense."

"Women like you ain't for men like me."

"Well how bout we change that?" She brought her lips back to meet his again and he tentatively started carrying her back to the bedroom. When they reached the bed he sat down on the edge with her still in his lap.

"Alright?"

She nodded. A little nervous that maybe he wouldn't want to stop like Spencer hadn't, but also excited to be in the wonderful thing that was his bed. It held his scent that she loved so dearly, and made her think of nothing but him. It made her want things she knew she shouldn't too. A part of her, she had to admit, didn't want him to stop, but that was a small part, and she pushed it away.

He slid back so that he was leaning against the metal bars that served as the headboard to his rickety old bed, pulling her along with him. Then he reached around her and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up around her shoulders and drawing her closer to him. She put her hands on either side of his face and drew him into another kiss.

After a couple of minutes he went to kissing her neck and collar bones, pushing the blanket off of her shoulders to get better access. Her hands slid back to his shoulders.

"Mmmm, Daryl."

She had to get closer to him so she tightened her grip on his shoulder and pulled herself forward, unintentionally grinding her hips against his.

He stopped kissing her neck and his hands tightened around her waist for a second, holding still, then he gently but firmly picked her up and sat her off of his lap. "Ya gotta hold still or it'll be a helluva lot harder for me to stop. 'N fact we probably should stop now."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Daryl."

"You ain't gotta be sorry Beth. We jus' need t' quit 'fore I can't."

She nodded a little, relieved that he was taking her needs into consideration, but also a bit disappointed to no longer have his lips on hers. He seemed visibly disappointed too for a second, then he stood and went to his closet grabbing two jackets. One was thick and flannel, the other leather. He put the leather one on and then layered the black vest with the angel wings over it.

"Still wanna go for that ride?"

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><p><strong>AN: This is just part 1 of November. It was getting really long and I need to post something lol. So, there you have it. Bethyl's first make-out sesh. Everybody loves it when Bethyl suck face. Hopefully it didn't disappoint, and hopefully neither of them was out of character. I know Beth was a bit, but she was going to extremes for Daryl. Ugh. I hope y'all liked this chapter. I hope Daryl was awkward enough. I just felt like after they started kissing, neither of them are pros at it or anything, but the passion would kinda push his awkwardness away, and he's wanted this for a really long time. You have no idea how many times I re-hashed this thing in my head. I had like eight different ways this could play out, one of them Daryl got mad at her for 'teasing' him and there wasn't even a kiss yet, just prolonged angst, but I was really wanting the kiss to be this chapter and I feel like after the msf we needed to go on with this story and not drag it out any further. I had kinda always been planning on having them kiss in Ch. 7. Someone said something about how it would be cute if Jeremy saw them kiss when they didn't think he was watching, and that WILL happen (I love the idea), just not when they are having a hot make-out sesh. They needed to burn through some of the sexual tension first. This chapter is highly influenced by reviews and PMs you all have sent me (as I have said before let me know what you are wanting and I will try to mash all the requests together and give you what you want). Now having said that, I've had some people ask for smut, and I want to go ahead and do a disclaimer now that they are together. I don't write smut, I have to stick with my moral principles on this, but they will have quite a few sexy moments like the above that I will write. That doesn't mean they won't have sex, it just means I won't write it in detail because I think it's a private thing for after marriage. (Please don't get angry with me. I'm not being preachy, I'm just saying I will stick to my personal moral principles in my writing). **

**I love you all. Thank you for your continued support and please tell me what you thought of this chapter. I think the next one (though it will be Nov. part 2) will be in Daryl's POV… thoughts?**

**3 engineergirl86**


	8. November: Part II

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sorry it was a century between updates. And thank you for all the love and continued support of this fic! You may have noticed I switched the cover image to Daryl. I have decided that each time I update I will switch it to the picture of the person whose POV it's in, so this is Daryl's POV. **

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><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 8: November: Part II_

-oOo-

"_Well take a look at what's left in that sunset, fireflies popping like the Fourth of July, yeah. You're gonna wanna see every single thing I'm gonna show you tonight. Got the perfect scene set of a moonlight glowing, just keep them baby blues wide open. Girl take a look around, yeah it's going down. It's going down just right. Hey baby fore the night gets any older, lean your pretty self over here a little closer. I need to hold ya, I wanna show ya what you don't wanna miss, no. It's all getting to what we've been waiting on. I'm gonna go and turn you and the night on. Coming on strong, I'm gonna lay it on your lips. Might wanna close your eyes for this. . ."_

_-Parmalee_ "Close Your Eyes for This"

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><p>It was a dream, it had to be. Nothing like this would ever happen to Daryl Dixon in the real world. Too good to be true, he'd never really grasped the meaning of the phrase before, thought it was something stupid people said just to hear themselves talk, but it described the situation perfectly. Yet, if it was a dream, he hoped he wouldn't ever wake up. He could still feel the sensation of her soft full lips on his own as he walked back over to her with his warmest jacket to wrap around her. She'd been trembling, he first noticed it outside when she climbed into his lap, straddling him as he sat on the side of the bike, but he'd not really given it a second thought at that time, captivated by her proximity and the feel of her against him. But after he stood up with her, not wanting to let go of her for even a second or worse, drop her as he caught the falling bike, he noticed she was shivering even more from the cold. It didn't seem like she'd even noticed it herself, but he wanted to take her inside so she could be more comfortable. Some of the trembling too, he could accredit to how nervous she'd been. Daryl Dixon was no expert at reading people, but when he finally kissed her he could tell just how terrified she was. The bravado and show of confidence was just that, it was as if she'd been acting, performing. She was so shy and sweet all the time and that was something he really liked about her, he liked her for who she was, there was no need to put on this show to get his attention, or was there? She'd been sending these little vibes to him that were so obvious even he'd not missed them, and yet he'd done nothing. Then when she was acting all sexy, not that she wasn't always sexy, but she played it up for him, and confident, he'd kissed her. Sure she'd told him to, but he was the one that kissed her. What did that say about him? What did she think of him now? That he was only interested in her when she wasn't being herself? Only when she showed a lot of skin and practically threw herself at him? That wasn't the message he'd wanted to send, but he knew he had, and he hated himself for it.<p>

She was blushing now, looking up at him like the shy innocent girl she truly was. He was pretty sure she'd asked him to kiss her because she'd gone as far as she could putting herself out there for him. She probably couldn't stomach being any more forward when it was something so against her nature. He was fairly certain that had something to do with her trembling too, being so afraid that he'd shoot her down after the lengths she'd gone to. He could never have hurt her like that, even if he didn't want to kiss her and hold her, which he did. Part of him wished it had happened sooner so it wouldn't have had to come to her having to do this, part of him was glad it had because he'd gotten to see her act so sultry and sexy just for him, and another part of him said it had to stop, that he was no good for her. For now though, he was just going to let himself enjoy this, take her on that bike ride maybe kiss her again if she still wanted it. What she saw in him he'd never understand. When she was squeezing his arms, he'd really not known what to do, it was almost like she found him attractive. Why the hell would that be the case? Sure drunken bar girls had told him as much, but they weren't exactly at her level of classiness and they were drunk and trying to get laid, just like he was. And he'd scared Beth, made her think that was what he wanted from her, hell it probably seemed like it and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't true, but he wasn't going to force himself on her, she deserved better than him. She just had to get this out of her system and she'd move on. Maybe she was interested now, but somebody her type would come along sooner or later and she'd forget about the redneck asshole. She was so out of his league it wasn't even funny. He got mad at himself for even fantasizing about her, but it still happened pretty often nonetheless. He felt like he was disrespecting her just like he had when he was holding her, touching her, kissing her. How could something this good happen to him?

"What?" she asked smiling up at him with her sweet innocent smile, tilting her head to the side.

"Just thinkin'," he replied carefully reaching to rub the backs of his fingers over her arm. She stepped closer to him and looked right up into his eyes giving him the biggest smile he'd ever seen and putting her hands on his shoulders.

"You're always thinkin' Daryl Dixon. One day you're gonna tell me what about."

"Think you know," he replied wrapping his jacket around her.

"Do I?"

"Mmhmm."

She smiled and bit her lip, and he wished she'd stop being so damn alluring. He was about to start kissin' her again.

She must have seen the desire in his eyes because she stepped closer, his too-big jacket still hanging off her shoulders, and looked up at him with those bright blue doe eyes, sultry in the dark, and he'd be damned if she didn't bat her eyelashes at him. A soft blush colored her cheeks and he was pulling her against himself trying to get every possible point of contact and covered her mouth with his as she went up on her tiptoes to reach him better. He licked at her lips and she didn't hesitate to let his tongue into her mouth. She tasted like strawberries, and he couldn't get enough. Gently he nipped at her bottom lip, careful not to hurt her, and wrapped his arms tightly around her holding her against him. Her hands went back to his hair, tunneling through it. Her touch was intoxicating and he found himself craving it more and more. He nipped at her lip again and she let out a soft moan that was nothing short of arousing. He'd almost come apart when she'd moaned his name earlier and he was determined to make her do it again, maybe not now, but soon. The kiss slowed each of them taking their time and to Daryl it felt extremely intimate, not sexual, but intimate. He'd never bothered kissing a woman like this before, there wasn't any need, but with Beth there seemed to be, on both their parts. The kiss finally slowed and Beth pulled back, looking up at him, smiling with swollen lips and blushing cheeks.

"We better get goin' on that bike ride or we're like ta be here all night, not gettin' anythin' done," Beth said sweetly.

"Ain't got nothin' else needs doin'."

She giggled softly.

"C'mon, yer right we best git goin'." He led the way out of the bedroom, slowing only when he felt her lace her fingers through his. It was the second time she'd done that, and he found that like last time, he didn't mind. He never had been one that had tolerated stupid shit like holding hands before, but he was willing to do anything for Beth, he even kinda liked it, but he'd beat the hell out of the first person to accuse him of such. Merle would get a kick out of it, that's for sure.

Outside Daryl led the way to the shed and dug out another helmet. He'd not had anyone but Jeremy ride with him in so long it'd gotten buried. He left the child sized helmet on the shelf in the shed and walked over to Beth with the newly recovered adult size one. She was smiling up at him excitedly and he carefully put the helmet on her.

"You're messin' up my hair," she teased.

"Gotta keep ya safe, could never forgive myself if somethin' happened to ya," he said seriously. Then he met her eyes through the visor and smirked, "sides, ain't never seen yer hair look bad." As soon as he said it he regretted it. He was so damn awkward at flirting, especially when sober.

Thankfully she giggled. "Thank you Daryl."

When they reached the bike he pulled his helmet on and got on.

"Alright, get on and hold on tight."

She did as he asked and he felt her arms circle around him covered in his coat. He could feel her pressed against him from behind, laying her helmeted head against his back.

"Tell me if ya get cold 'er uncomfortable," he said and felt her nod in response. He started the bike up and peeled out of the driveway, feeling her grip tighten around him with the increased speed. He turned off onto one of the back roads the first chance he got, wanting to show her his favorite place, backwoods Georgia. It was so peaceful in the woods, he'd rather be there than anywhere in the quiet with just his thoughts and his bow for company. But now it wasn't a place he wanted to be alone. He wanted her there too.

About thirty minutes into the drive he pulled off the winding country road over into a field by a stream and killed the engine. After a second she let go of him and dismounted and pulled off her helmet.

"Where are we?" she inquired, clearly excited and still feeling the exhilaration of what was likely her first motorcycle ride.

He gestured towards the stream. "'S a nice waterfall down that way. Thought ya might wanna see it 'fore we head back. Thought ya mighta got cold too."

She nodded, "Yeah I am cold, but it's worth it! This is so much fun Daryl I can't believe I've never ridden on a motorcycle before."

"Yeah an' I thought you hated 'em 'til tonight."

"Well, I did, but you don't, and now I see why."

He took his helmet off and dismounted. "C'mon, sky's clear, we should be able t' see in th' moonlight."

She followed as he led the way over to the tree line and down the gentle slope towards the creek. He slowed down and waited for her to catch up as he neared the bottom of the slope. When she did she reached and took his hand, lacing her fingers through his, and he lead the way upstream, away from the direction of the road. It wasn't a big waterfall, but it was one that wasn't too far out for him to show her on a Thursday night, when she had to be at work early the next morning. She'd complained once that Spencer was demanding with her staying out late with him, and Daryl promised himself he'd never do that to her, even if nothing ever came of this.

In about five more minutes of walking the waterfall came into view in the moonlight. It was only about as tall as his trailer, but Beth gasped in wonder nonetheless.

"It's beautiful!"

He nodded and led her up a little slope to a rock ledge where they could sit comfortably and watch it for a little bit. He sat down drawing her with him, momentarily forgetting her bare legs and the cold rock. Then he heard her suck in a breath as she sat down.

"'s cold," she let out a little laugh.

Before he could think better of it or stop himself he was pulling her to sit on his leg. She gave him a little kiss on the cheek, and he watched her watch the water fall over the rocks.

"It's so peaceful you know?"

He nodded. He did know. He spent every second he could out in the woods. Away from people and noise and all the bullshit that came with. Waterfalls were fine, he didn't really get excited about them like he figured she might, but he did find them peaceful like everything else in the woods, and he really wanted to show her something to make her smile. She smiled easily and often, but he always sought out opportunities to be the cause of her smile.

She was so tempting sitting there on his leg, he wanted to pull her back closer, wrap his arms around her, turn her around and maybe pick up where they left off. But instead his just slid his hand around her waist resting it against her bare flat stomach as his coat she wore hang open.

"'S okay?" he asked her, not wanting to overstep his bounds.

She smiled and slid back to lean her back against his chest. "Always."

Another few quiet minutes passed before Daryl found himself speaking without even thinking first.

"Sang somethin'"

"Hmmm?"

"Sang somethin'," he shrugged. "Like hearin' ya sang."

She gave him a big smile, and her eyes shone. "What would you like me to sing?"

"I unno, uh, reckon I like that one you sang t' Jeremy th' other day. The one 'bout the finger paints."

She was trying not to laugh. "The finger paints? You mean Masterpiece?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, reckon so."

"Okay," she turned sideways sitting on his leg so that her legs were between his two.

"_I walked by colorful sidewalk. Children with buckets of pastel chalk. And I thought of you, my love. I thought of you. So I walked until the sun went down. I thought that no one else was around. Until I saw you, my love. Until I saw you."_

"_My black, white life turns to color. But baby, I'm with another. When you pull out your suitcase of finger paints. My cheeks burn red from your kisses. My blue heart shivers and misses. Your brushstrokes, a masterpiece made in the rain. Made to was away."_

Her beautiful haunting voice filled the night sky and the clearing around the water and drifted into his ears as smooth and sweet as honey, and he would have been content to sit and listen to her sing for the rest of his life.

"_You build castles in the clouds, when the sky was clear and blue. No one else sees cloud castles 'cept for me and you. And the grayness turns to glitter, with a laugh and a wink. All the buildings are outlined in orange, and gold and pink."_

"_My black, white life turns to color, but baby I'm with another. So put away your suitcase of finger paints. My cheeks burn red from your kisses my blue heart shivers and misses. Your brushstrokes, a masterpiece made in the rain. Made to wash away."_

He held her gaze as she finished her song, unable to stop thinking about how beautiful she was.

"_Made to wash away."_

Her gaze dropped to his lips and he leaned forward to claim her lips as his again. That was another thing he'd never get too much of, her soft plump lips on his unworthy ones. He stood up as they kissed, now towering over her, and drew her closer, pulling her up so that she rested on her tiptoes, but he supported most of her weight. He licked at her lips and she opened her mouth for him to reach her sweet tongue. She still tasted just like strawberries and he couldn't get enough of her. He felt her fingers tunneling into his hair as he deepened the kiss. Then he started gently nipping at her bottom lip again and holding her closer, hoping he could get her to moan out his name again. He just had to hear it on her lips again. She seemed all too eager to get closer to him and he assumed the cold had something to do with that. He could feel almost all of her pressed up against him. Her breasts were the most distracting for certain, but he made himself keep his hands on her back and stomach, not wanting to press the issue too far and upset her or lose this, whatever it was they had started. He promised himself there would be time for that in the future, though he wasn't sure if there would be or not. He began rubbing his thumb on her hip bone in a circular pattern, not even noticing he was doing it at first until she pressed closer against his hand and pulled her mouth back from his for an instant.

"Daryl, mmmm."

He instantly went to kissing her exposed neck, still rubbing her hip bone as she trailed her hands down his leather clad arms. She leaned back in his arms as his lips traveled down the column of her throat, and the action pressed her center against him in just the right way that it made him want more. Before he could think to stop himself he was grabbing her ass and dragging her closer to him then sliding his hand down from her bottom along the back of her long slender leg and pulling it up to hook around his hip.

"Daryl," her voice was small and almost scared sounding, and when he looked at her she had a scared expression on her face. He instantly let go of her leg and hip and took a step back, separating them.

"Shit, Beth I'm sorry. I got carried away. Did I hurt you?"

She quickly shook her head. "No, I was just afraid we wouldn't stop," she said in a small voice. Why was she always afraid? Had someone forced himself on her before? He could feel anger burning in his stomach at the thought of it. He wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure how.

She was looking at the ground now, seemingly in shame, so he took a step closer to her and did something totally out of his comfort zone, something he knew she needed. He lifted her chin up gently to look at him.

"Ain't ever gonna force nothin' ya don't want on ya."

She nodded and a single tear slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb.

"C'mon, should probably be headin' back."

She nodded in agreement.

"Thank you Daryl for takin' me out here and showin' me this."

He just nodded and reached back to put a hand against her mid back and carefully guide her out.

When they got back Beth carefully got off the bike and he instantly missed the feel of her against him. It was strange. Normally he hated it when people touched him, but with Beth everything seemed to be an exception to his norm. She handed him the helmet, smiling at him, and started to take off his jacket to give back to him.

"Nah, you hang on to it. Yer prolly freezin' yer ass off, ain't ya?"

"Well I don't think I could have put it that delicately," she laughed, "but yeah I am, my legs anyways."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, I was the one that wanted to do this in shorts, and besides, you did keep me kinda warm."

He felt himself starting to blush again. Dammit. He blushed all the damn time around her like some stupid-ass virgin high school kid that ain't ever seen a pretty girl before.

He walked with her to her car and opened the door for her as he always did, and she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, but rather than giving him a peck on the cheek like normal, this time she kissed the corner of his mouth and let it linger for a second before lowering back down.

"Goodnight Daryl."

"Night Beth."

He stood and watched her pull out of the driveway and head for her apartment, and damn if he wasn't already looking forward to picking Jeremy up tomorrow, just so he can see her face.

-o-oOo-o-

When five o'clock finally came after what was probably the longest day of his adult life, he didn't count the hellish days of his childhood because this was a different sort of long ass day, this was a long ass day because he was excited. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been excited. Maybe when he got that fourteen point buck earlier this season, but even that couldn't compare to how badly he wanted to see Beth. When he finally arrived at the daycare he realized he had no idea what he was going to say to her, but she knew he wasn't good with words so maybe he could just not say anything at all. He didn't want to seem too eager either, not that he'd ever had a problem seeming eager to do anything that didn't involve weapons or fighting, but he knew it was only a matter of time before she got through this phase, and if he acted too needy it would only hasten her through it and he'd lose her sooner. No, he'd play it cool and aloof, let her make the moves, or at least try to do that. He really wanted to ask her to dinner like he'd done a month or so ago, but knew he didn't need to do that. It would sound stupid anyways. Like he was begging for her attention. She'd know just how desperately he wanted to see her, to spend time with her.

Outside the building had the handprint flag and 'Thank you' banner she'd mentioned at dinner last night and once he arrived at the classroom everything was decorated in red white and blue, even Beth. Her skirt was red and white vertical stripes, and she had on a white shirt with a blue cardigan. The contrast from her outfit the night before was staggering and he was taken aback for a moment, realizing just how far out of her comfort zone she'd gone for him. Shouldn't he be willing to do the same for her? He didn't really know what that would entail yet, but it was certainly food for thought, and as she had astutely commented, he was always thinking.

"Hey Daryl," she said casually as if she hadn't spent half the evening yesterday straddling him.

"Beth," he nodded, attempting to be just as casual and aloof.

"Jeremy, come on, Uncle Daryl is here to get you," she called to the little boy who was still playing across the room. She turned to Daryl, walking closer to him, and he felt his stomach tighten and his heart race, "he had a blast today. He loves holiday parties."

Daryl just nodded, trying not to stare at her lips. Were they still a bit swollen from yesterday or was he just making that up?

Jeremy hurried over. "Uncle Daryl we had icing with sprinkles today!"

Beth smiled, "he didn't eat a bite of the cupcake, just ate the icing and sprinkles. He's really good at making handprints, too, knows to hold his hand still and not touch anything but the paper until he washes the paint off."

Daryl nodded and grabbed Jeremy's coat, helping him put it on.

"So do you have anything big planned for the weekend?" she asked.

What kind of question was that? "Nah."

She nodded. He didn't want to go, it would be Tuesday before they got to spend any amount of time together again, but he couldn't just stand here and gape at her. "Well, I'll see ya next week then I reckon. Still comin' over on Tuesday?"

She nodded and he couldn't help but thinking she looked a little sad.

-o-oOo-o-

It'd been a long weekend, he couldn't remember looking forward to the work week like this ever before, but he was dying to see her, and he cursed himself for it every single moment. Hunting hadn't even been enough to distract him from thoughts of her. He'd bagged half a dozen squirrels for the weekend and that was pretty much his sole accomplishment. Everything else was pretty damn up to speed, and he hadn't been in the mood to go to the bar, so at night he just drank a few beers and tried to get his mind off of her, clean weapons, watch TV, whatever little tasks needed to be done. His sheets faintly held her scent again for the brief time she'd been in the bed. He felt like a damn fool, but Monday afternoon came and he got to see her for a few minutes, then it was finally Tuesday.

After work he headed home and not long after she arrived with Jeremy. Seeing her was like a breath of fresh air, like going out in the woods after being cooped up in the house for far too long. It was freeing and intoxicating and he didn't even care that all she was doing was sitting in the floor playing with Jeremy. Just being around her again was all he needed. He felt foolish, and he needed to find a way to break himself of this weakness. Daryl Dixon didn't need anyone; that was something he learned long ago and the process had been painful. He wasn't looking to re-learn it, and so he would keep her at arm's reach. Keep his barriers up, despite how inviting she was. It was as if her very presence said to him _come and rest_. She was all at once a breath of fresh air, a ray of sunshine, and a light at the end of the dark shitty tunnel he'd been clambering through ever since he could remember. Maybe he'd indulge himself just a little more, not enough to get permanently attached, there was no way in hell that whatever this is would last, but just enough so maybe he could get his fill of her. He'd eventually move on just like he had with every other woman he'd ever been with, though he was certain he'd never felt even a tenth as strongly for any of them.

After dinner she was putting dishes in the dishwasher and he was walking out with Jeremy and Linda, it occurred to him that he wasn't sure what he would say when he got back inside, alone with her for the first time since last Thursday. What if she'd realized what a mistake she made? She'd been nothing but kind to him since, and there was no reason for him to think she was regretting it, but why wouldn't she? After all, she could do infinitely better than him. He still couldn't wrap his mind around why she would ever want him kissing her. Maybe she just needed her 'bad boy' fix and then she'd move on, and they'd both be better for it, but even as the thought ran through his head he felt a crushing sensation in his chest. He hated the thought, but she needed better than him and he couldn't afford to get attached to something he couldn't have. But hell, this was like asking a poor man to safeguard your family's most prized diamond jewelry. He was bound to clutch onto it and not wanna let go.

When he opened the door to go back inside he saw her coming into the living room from the kitchen.

"Hey," she smiled sweetly, looking every bit as innocent as she truly was and nothing like the other night. Her hair was down, and she had her signature cowboy boots on and a yellow dress over warm looking leggings. Over her dress she wore a denim jacket with sleeves that extended to just below her elbows and a thick bangle bracelet over her left wrist. He'd noticed some time ago that she always wore thick bracelets over her wrist if she's not wearing long sleeves. For the longest time he'd just accepted it as something she liked, but Daryl Dixon was nothing if not observant, and it was beginning to come to the forefront of his mind more and more often. He brushed the thought away again. He may be observant, but he certainly wasn't pushy with things that were none of his business. He sure as hell had his own secrets and skeletons.

"Hey," he replied stupidly, repeating what she'd said.

"Did you have a good day?"

He nodded.

"Was work too tiring?"

"Nah," what was she getting at? Sure he was tired, but not exhausted by any means.

"So, you're not too tired for me to stay for a little bit longer?"

"Hell nah, can stay 's long as ya want."

Her face seemed to light up at that and he made his way over to the couch to turn on the TV, surely some rerun CSI episode was on or something. He liked CSI well enough, not really a TV kind of guy, but he needed something for them to do besides stare at each other. He probably shouldn't act on his whim of taking her straight to bed. It wasn't like to send the right message and it went against his tactics of keeping his distance and being aloof.

He sat down and turned the channel until he found his desired CSI episode and Beth sat down right next to him, not wasting any time and rested her head against his shoulder. That in itself wasn't new. She'd been doing that for over a month and he'd gotten accustomed to it, but when she wiggled closer to him and got comfortable and hooked her arm through his he was a bit surprised. He didn't move, shift, or shy away from her touch.

"Y' know? I missed seein' th' both of you on Saturday," she whispered.

"Mmm."

"Did you have a good weekend? Go huntin'?"

He nodded a little, and she smiled.

"Catch anythin'?"

"Few squirrels. Not much."

"Y' goin' again this weekend?"

He shrugged. "Reckon I might. Why?"

She just shrugged and snuggled closer to him, nuzzling her face against his shoulder and bringing her other hand over so that both were resting on his forearm. The closeness made him a bit uncomfortable, but what really got to him was the way she looked up at him a few minutes later. It was that selfsame look she gave him the night she walked here in the rain, the night Spencer hurt her, the _I need_ _you_ look that he'd never been able to ignore or play off.

"Beth," he carefully slid his hand across her face and into her hair, her eyes fluttered shut and she released a quiet sigh at his touch. Her lips parted and she leaned toward him. He claimed her lips carefully at first and then hungrily, and she eagerly returned his affections. Her hands went to his hair, tunneling into it and holding his head close to hers. The kiss got deeper and more heated and Beth took his bottom lip between hers, nipping and sucking on it and riling him up even more. His hands went to her ribcage and trailed down her sides, taking in her petite shape and tiny waist until he reached her hips. They struggled to get closer to each other, so he shifted her onto her back and moved to where he hovered over her, careful to keep his weight on his knees and arms so not to crush her under his weight. She was so tiny he was certain she'd break if he put too much weight on her.

"Okay?" he asked.

She nodded, her eyes full of trust he was certain he didn't deserve. He leaned down over her kissing her gently at first. Her hands went to his back trailing over it, and he was glad he still wore his thick fabric mechanic's shirt. She didn't need to know about all the scars he had. He didn't want to put that burden, the baggage of his past, on her. She was too good for that, and he didn't want her pity. He never wanted her to look at him with pity; the look she gave him now was the only one he ever wanted.

He slid his arms underneath her pulling her up closer to him. This time she broke their kiss apart, trailing her lips down the side of his face to his neck. It was strange to him how affectionate she was being with him and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why she was doing this. He wasn't worthy of her affections, so he only let it go on for a short time before he shifted pulling her up closer to him and exposing her neck as she laid her head back. He pressed his lips slowly to the soft column of her throat kissing her worshipfully. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, not just in the way she looked but everything about her was absolutely beautiful. He wanted to tell her that he'd gladly do anything she asked of him, follow her to the ends of the earth, run for days and nights to get to her, or do anything she wanted. He wanted to beg her to stay with him, but he didn't have the words, and he knew saying any of this would just make it worse when she did leave. So he didn't say a thing, he just kissed her.

"Mmm, Daryl," she pressed herself up against him arching her back. He pulled away from kissing her to meet her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyelids were heavy. She pressed her lips to his again, arching her back to press their bodies closer together. When she started sucking on his lip again he knew he had to put on the breaks.

"Best quit, 'fore we get carried away," his voice was gravellier than normal.

She nodded, but neither of them made to move away from each other.

"What are we doin' Daryl?"

"Jus' layin' here I reckon. I'll get off of ya."

"No, you don't have to, that's not what I meant. What I meant was um . . . are we . . ." her face was completely flushed . . . "are we a couple or . . . ?"

Daryl sat up. "I ain't no good at that shit. Don't know the first thing about it."

"Well you don't have to be good at it, you just have to be yourself."

"I ain't relationship material Beth. You don't want that."

She sat up after him. "Why is it, Daryl Dixon, that you always have yourself convinced that you know what I want?"

"Tellin' ya, I don't know shit about it."

"I don't care. I've not had many boyfriends, so I don't know much about it either."

She scooted closer to him and reached out to take his hand, intertwining their fingers. "Are you sayin' you don't want to?" He met her eyes. They were big and pleading.

He looked away from her, unable to continue holding her gaze or he might balk.

"Daryl we can't keep doin' this if we aren't going to take it anywhere. It'll just hurt both of us."

As if he didn't already know that.

"Y' deserve better than me."

"No, Daryl, that doesn't make sense. You're a good man. I know you want this just like I do. Please, let's just give it a chance."

Damn it. He couldn't say no to her. He nodded, "alright if it's what you want. But I ain't no good at it."

She pressed her lips to his for a second, then pulled back to look at him. "I think you will be."

They sat together for a little while, her head resting against his shoulder, before she was needing to get going, so he walked her to her car.

"Was thinkin' maybe Friday night I could pick you up, go t' dinner or somthin'?"

"I'd love that." She pressed a kiss to his lips. "Goodnight Daryl."

-o-oOo-o-

Daryl had driven to Beth's apartment and picked her up after Linda got Jeremy from his house. They went to the Diner and ate together and decided to go back to his place afterwards.

"I'm so tired," Beth said, said leaning against his chest after they walked inside.

"Wanna go lay down or you want me t' take ya home?"

"We just got here. You're not takin' me home just yet," she smiled impishly. "I wanna lay down, but only if you'll lay with me."

He nodded in agreement following her back to the bedroom. She kicked off her boots and pulled her scarf and cardigan off, tossing them on the floor and crawling into his bed. She let her hair down from its ponytail and got comfortable, then looked back at him, still standing there watching her.

"Don't you wanna lay down with me?"

Only if she knew just how badly he wanted to, but he hesitated for a minute, then finally sat on the edge of the bed and kicked his boots off before leaning back and tucking one arm behind his head and bringing the other hand to his mouth to chew on a short finger nail.

She scooted close and laid her head on his chest, yawning. He moved the arm that was behind his head around to tuck it behind her and placed his hand on the small of her back, holding her close.

Beth tucked her slender leg around his holding them closer together and he tightened his grip on her, sliding his hand down to grab her bottom. She turned a bit more towards him and pushed herself up on her elbow so she was able to reach his lips. She rubbed her lips back and forth over his so softly he thought he may have imagined it.

"Teasin' me again?" he asked.

"Ain't teasin' if I let you," she whispered, a smile covering her features.

This time their kissing started off frantically rather than slowly. Daryl pulled her closer, and her hands went to his arms squeezing his biceps. He trailed his other hand down her side and grabbed onto her hip as her tongue slid over his. Their need to get closer was growing and Daryl quickly pushed her back and set up.

"C'mon," he said, his voice thick and low, and without hesitation she climbed into his lap, straddling him. He took her by the hips and pulled her closer, and her lips were back on his, wet open mouthed kisses. Her hands went back to squeezing his arms and his trailed up from her hips onto her stomach, pushing her shirt up out of the way. She took his bottom lip between hers, sucking and nipping, and his hands traveled further up her shirt until his fingers grazed the bottom of her bra. He pulled back from her kiss and met her gaze, watching for any sign that he was going farther than she was ready for, and finding none, he slid his hands up to cup her breasts. She just held his gaze with hooded needy eyes, not showing him any sign that she wanted him to stop, so he didn't. Her bra was thin and lacy and he could feel her nipples through it. He squeezed and then rubbed his thumbs over her nipples, making her bite her lip.

"Mmmm, Daryl, don't stop."

So he didn't, he bent forward kissing her neck and continuing his caresses. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled herself closer, dragging and grinding her hips against his.

He quickly flipped them over so she was lying on her back, and he was hovering over her, his weight on his knees and elbows. His pants were getting uncomfortably tight, but he ignored it and pressed himself against her bringing another moan from her lips. He rubbed his thumbs over her nipples again, her shirt now shoved up above her bra.

"Ya alrigh'?" he asked smirking.

She nodded clinging to his shoulders and caressing the hard muscle.

Unable to help himself, he pressed his hips down against hers again, still squeezing her breasts.

"Mmm, Daryl," she shuddered against him.

After a second she took a calming breath, "we need t' stop." He could see the conflict on her face, she clearly didn't want to stop, but she knew she needed to, and he wasn't about to ignore her request, even if he wanted to keep going, even if she did, too. He cared too much about her for that.

He nodded and pulled away from her. "'M sorry."

She looked up at him, confused as she pulled her shirt back down. "Don't be," she sat up kissing his cheek. "Why are you sorry, you stopped when I asked you to?"

He shrugged, wanting to ask why she was always afraid he wouldn't stop, and before he could think better of it he blurted it out. "Did you 'ave someone before not stop when ya asked?"

She nodded, looking ashamed as she glanced down. "Spencer," she said quietly. "He was pretty forceful with what he wanted. It was really hard to get him to stop, and he would start up sometimes when I didn't want it."

He felt anger welling up in him and he clenched his fists. "He forced himself on you?" he could hear the anger in his voice and he hoped it didn't scare her.

"Well he didn't rape me or anything," she said quietly, "he would mostly just touch me when I didn't want him to, but I was afraid it would eventually end up being worse. That he just wouldn't stop at all eventually. He held me down a few times after I asked him to quit, so I was a little afraid he might eventually . . ." she stopped and shuddered.

"You ain't gotta worry 'bout him no more," Daryl said, lifting her chin up to look at him. "Ain't gonna let 'im near you."

She nodded and he wiped away the tears that slid down her cheeks. She leaned into him and he held her.

-o-oOo-o-

"Thanksgiving is in a week you know?"

"Mmm."

"Do you have anythin' special planned, with Jeremy and Linda or some other family?"

"Ain't got no other family 'sides Merle. Linda 'n' Jeremy 're goin' t' Texas, t' see her folks."

"You ain't goin?"

"What? Hell nah, I don't know them. Linda's Merle's ol' lady not mine."

"So you're just gonna stay here alone?" she asked as if it was the strangest thing she'd ever heard before.

Daryl just shrugged. "Reckon, so. Don't make no difference t' me."

She looked around for a second, seeming to think about what he said. "You should come with me to Mamma and Daddy's."

"How come?"

"Cause I don't want you to spend Thanksgiving alone Daryl. I want you to spend it with me."

"Nah."

"What? Why not?" she looked both hurt and angry, but not surprised. She knew him, more than he cared to admit.

He shrugged and mumbled, "I dunno."

"Daryl, you would be welcome," she said now with a gentle tone. "They'd love to have you."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll hold up here."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay."

-o-oOo-o-

Daryl woke up Thanksgiving morning and went hunting, enjoying the time out in the woods alone. When he got back home he cleaned his kills then made his way into the kitchen to make a sandwich. But just as he pulled out the bread there was a knock at the door.

"Who the hell?"

He walked over reaching for the doorknob. "What the hell d' ya want?"

He slung the door open and Beth stood there smiling holding a pan with aluminum foil wrapped around it.

"Beth? 'M sorry 'bout yellin' didn't expect t' see you. What ya doin' here? Thought ya were goin' t' see yer Ma and Pa."

"You didn't seriously think I'd let you spend Thanksgiving alone Daryl Dixon?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Here, take the turkey. The dressin' and other fixins are still in my car."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: You asked for sexually conflicted Beth. I give you sexually conflicted Beth. I just hope you caught the drift of what was going through her head even in his POV. Someone asked for second base, so I hope that steamy little part was good. Let me know if I should raise the rating after that, I don't really think so personally. There won't really be anything more explicit than that. Also some Thanksgiving cuteness here. Beth wasn't about to leave him alone for the holiday.**

**I had a few people ask if Spencer was coming back. I honestly wasn't planning on it, but if y'all would like to see him again let me know, and I can bring him back. If I did I wouldn't have Beth going back to him or anything, in my stories once I get the main ship together I don't go back. I'm a stickler for couples being faithful to each other, so if Spencer does come back it will be as the 'bad guy'. Beth won't be like 'Which one? Which one?' I won't torture y'all or myself with that. The other option, if y'all want to see Spencer show up again, could be as a villain in my new fic 'On Borrowed Time' which is a ZA alternate ending to this fic. It picks up Halloween night at the end of chapter 6 October. It's also Bethyl. Just let me know if you want to see him in one of the stories, both or neither. **

**Also for this story we are probably looking at 4 to 6 more chapters (one of which will be an epilogue). I know that's more than I originally predicted I'd be writing, but I have had such a huge amount of positive feedback. Here are a few things to look forward to, I'm going to be progressively more vague with each. **

**Ch 9: December (Beth POV) – Daryl spends Christmas at the Greene farm.**

**Ch 10: January (Daryl POV) – Merle makes an appearance. **

**Ch. 11: February (Beth POV) – First and forever.**

**Okay, enough spoilers and teasers. I'd love it if you let me know what you thought. **

**Thanks,**

**3 engineergirl86**


	9. December

**This chapter is quite a bit of Beth learning about Daryl and his past. Obviously she knows some, with Merle being in prison, and Daryl clearly not being the wealthiest person. She knows he's had to struggle to build a life for himself, and that he has done so, but besides knowing that he grew up poor, and his brother is an idiot, there's not much she knows of Daryl's past. They've not had much time to bond without Jeremy being there. And they've been gradually achieving this intimacy where Daryl is going to start feeling more comfortable letting her in. I know that in the show they first got close and then the romantic feelings started to develop, but I've not been able to have them talk about Daryl's past much with Jeremy around. The setting has just been different than that in the show. Here they have gotten to know each other and develop feelings for what they see and learn of the other when they aren't alone. The show has just the opposite setting. So, they've gotten to know each other's personalities and habits, just not to the intimate details, but they will start coming out now that the romance has begun, and they are spending more time together, alone. Daryl wants a better life for Jeremy, and doesn't want him exposed to knowledge of his past. And it's true that Merle is far from perfect, Linda too, but they aren't abusive. Linda's negligence and drug use **_**was not and is not**_** okay, but she has wanted to improve herself for Jeremy, and you'll be able to see a bit of that in this chapter. **

**I am going to attempt to up the quality of my writing as well. I received a comment that said my writing is not strong, so that's why it's taken me so long to update. I'm not quite as confident as I once was, truly I never really was overly confident with my writing, but I'm attempting to raise the bar. I take it as a challenge; I've always liked a good challenge, so hopefully the extra time and effort are evident in this installment. **

**I hope the A/N wasn't too long, but I want you all to know my mindset. Maybe my longest musical selection for the chapter theme yet, below. Those of you who read Dixons Don't Dance know how much I love this song. It's Beth in a nutshell, or at least in my mind.**

* * *

><p>-oOo-<p>

**All in Good Time**

_Chapter 9: December_

-oOo-

"_Somebody's gotta wear a pretty skirt; somebody's gotta be the one to flirt. Somebody's gotta wanna hold his hand, so God Made Girls. He needed something soft and loud and sweet and proud, but tough enough to break a heart. Something beautiful and breakable that lights up in the dark, so God made girls . . . He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world." And God made girls (for singing in your front seat). God made girls (for dancin' to our own beat). . . . Somebody's gotta be the one to cry. Somebody's gotta let him drive. Give him a reason to hold that door so God made girls. Somebody's gotta put up a fight, make him wait on a Saturday night, to walk downstairs and blow his mind, so God made girls. Something that can wake him up and call his bluff and drag his butt to church. Something that is hard to handle. Somethin' fragile to hold him when he hurts. . ."_

_-RaeLynn_ "God Made Girls"

* * *

><p>"Daryl Dixon! Why not?"<p>

"Ain't really a fan of the zoo."

"Well it's not about you. It's about Jeremy!"

"'S for kids Beth. He 'n go without me."

"I like the zoo. Besides, what is it that's so awful about it? You love being in the woods."

He shrugged, "there's a shitload of people at th' zoo fer one thing. Ain't nobody in th' woods. Ain't the same thing remotely. Don't like Atlanta neither."

"You're bein' so stubborn."

He just shrugged again.

"Please Daryl, if you won't do it for Jeremy, which is awful of you by the way, shame on you, will you do it for me?"

He just looked at her. "Ain't sayin' he can't go. His mamma's the one takin' 'im. Just sayin' I ain't goin'."

"Well when Linda told 'im you didn't wanna go, his little face just fell, and he said 'I don't wanna go neither.' You saw that! You know!"

"There, saves money and don't have t' deal with dumb city asshats."

"Daryl Dixon."

"Alrigh' I'll go," he sighed.

"Did you have a bad experience before at the zoo or something'?"

"Nah, I ain't never been before. Just don't wanna be with all them people."

Beth was a bit taken aback at that statement. Hadn't everyone been to the zoo before? Maybe Daryl's parents weren't the type to take their child to the zoo, or maybe they just flat out couldn't afford it. She thought carefully about how to respond.

Beth gave him a small smile. "Then how is it that you're so certain you don't like it?" she asked softly.

He let out a breath. "Alrigh', I'll go."

"Good, and please try to enjoy it for Jeremy's sake. He was so excited before he found out you didn't want to go."

Linda had decided that for all of the grief she put her son through, she was going to do something for him, anything he wanted. And as it turned out the thing Jeremy wanted most in life was to go to the zoo with his mom, uncle, and Beth, who thought the whole thing was absolutely precious, and when Linda came to pick Jeremy up a few minutes ago she posed the situation to Beth and Daryl. Daryl had immediately responded that he wasn't going and Beth had become livid as Linda walked out with the distraught three year old. As soon as they were out of the driveway she turned on poor unsuspecting Daryl.

-o-oOo-o-

Beth placed her hand on the back of Daryl's arm. "See? It's not so bad is it?"

Daryl just grunted in response.

"Uncle Daryl! Look that monkey just threw shit at the other one!"

Daryl smirked a little bit at that, and Beth sighed. Never before in her life had she met a three year old that cursed like this one did. Lord knows Daryl cursed a lot, but Linda didn't even say anything, and Beth was willing to bet that Merle had a sailor's mouth, too. She fought back the urge to tell the child he shouldn't say such things, but they weren't in her classroom right now, and Linda was Jeremy's mother, not Beth. At least it brought a smile to Daryl's face. They'd only been at the zoo for about an hour and Daryl had just stared at the masses of people scornfully. It wasn't that he didn't like the animals, it was that he didn't like the people and the city, Beth knew. It just made the whole situation that much more endearing when Daryl had offered to take her to Maggie's house after the incident with Spencer. He hated Atlanta, and yet he offered to drive her here late at night, when he wanted to do nothing but stay home and get some rest.

"Let's go see the lions!" the child cheered. He ran to Beth and grabbed her hand to lead her along toward to big cats. She laughed and looked back to Daryl who was left behind them and he and Linda followed after Jeremy and Beth.

"Look Uncle Daryl! They are really big!" Jeremy said. "Can we shoot one?"

"Nah, I think they frown on that," Daryl said. Then he looked at Beth and said quietly, "just one more thing wrong with the zoo."

Beth made a face and stuck her tongue out at him. Daryl just smirked.

"Wanna go see the giraffes?" Linda asked.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Jeremy excitedly ran off in the wrong direction, but Daryl reacted quickly grabbing him by the arm.

"Ain't that way. Don't go runnin' off. 'S a shitload of people here." As he finished his statement he glanced up at Beth, letting go of Jeremy. "You too, stay close," but he said it softly enough where only she heard it. Daryl had grown increasingly more protective of her since the incident with Spencer. Since they'd arrived in Atlanta he'd not let her out of his sight. While she thought it was a bit excessive, she also found it sweet and endearing so she humored him. After all, last time he tried to look out for her and she hadn't listened she ended up getting the crap beat out of her.

"I will," she promised, holding his gaze. That was why all of these people bothered him. He didn't trust him. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, he just didn't trust them around Beth and Jeremy, the two people he cared the most about. His unwillingness to trust and the need to distance himself from others was something she'd picked up on some time ago, and over time it resonated more and more. Her curiosity grew, and she began to wonder what had happened to him to make him so hesitant to trust.

The remainder of their time at the zoo was enjoyable as well. Jeremy was amazed by each new exhibit to which they came, and his favorite seemed be the tigers, just as the plastic toy tigers at the preschool were his favorites. When they came to the meerkat exhibit he ran to the various windows peering in and laughing then running to another window to see the tiny critters swiftly running around and popping in and out of holes. Daryl even seemed to loosen up and enjoy it, though just a bit, and Beth was certain he'd never admit it to anyone. Linda's face had been lit up in a smile the entire time, getting to spend time with her son and see him have so much fun.

-o-oOo-o-

It was nearing Christmas, and Beth was intent on asking Daryl to come with her and spend Christmas at the farm. They'd been together for about a month now and maybe, though he'd not accepted the invitation to spend Thanksgiving with the Greene's, he would spend Christmas with them. She was just waiting for the opportune moment to ask him when he was most like to say yes. Currently she was unsure of when that moment would be, so biding her time until it arrived seemed to be her best option. There was still plenty of time; it wasn't like he was going anywhere. Jeremy was going to Texas again with Linda, and Daryl said he didn't have any other family besides Merle. He'd probably want to visit his brother in prison for the holiday, Beth assumed, but that was an easy thing to work around in scheduling.

It was Thursday, December the seventh, much too close to Christmas to not have any decorations up, and Beth knew that Jeremy would love decorating, so she'd brought a little tree and some ornaments for Jeremy to put up in Daryl's living room. She hadn't expected Daryl to have much Christmas stuff, but she thought he might have . . . something, maybe a stocking or a few ornaments or something his mom had before she passed away, but when she'd asked him Tuesday he'd said 'Ain't got nothin'. Her own tree and other various decorations had been put up on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. Black Friday had been spent shopping with Maggie in Atlanta, and there had been several near death experiences. Needless to say, she hadn't mentioned to Daryl that she was planning on going, or bothered to mention it when she got back. He certainly wouldn't have liked it. She really needed to get better at being a girlfriend. Regardless, her decorations were up, and the following Monday they had put up a tree at Cradles to Crayons in her classroom, and Jeremy loved putting on the ornaments. Sure he was getting to put up another tree with his mamma, but Beth really wanted to have him put one up with her and Daryl as well. Daryl hadn't said anything at all on the matter at all, but he never protested either.

At the moment, Beth was stirring the venison stew she'd made, humming softly. Jeremy was playing in the living room, and after they ate they were going to put the tree together. Beth felt a light touch on her lower back and turned to smile at Daryl. He moved so silently on those hunter's feet of his; she'd never even heard him coming. When she met his eyes they were warmer and more intense than his usual cool gaze. He lifted a rough calloused hand and laid it against the side of her face, running his thumb over her lips.

"Y' got th' softest lips," he whispered. His ears and neck turned red even as he said it, and she knew he'd embarrassed himself.

Her smile grew brighter, "you don't have to be embarrassed when you say things like that to me, ya know? I really like it when you say those things. There's no need to be embarrassed." She stood on her tip toes and brushed her lips back and forth across his, teasing him to kiss her. He glanced toward the living room where Jeremy was. The child was out of sight, and Beth could still hear him playing with his cars. Daryl looked back at her and seemed to think the coast was clear. He tugged her towards him and kissed her, his hands holding onto her lower back as her arms wrapped around his neck. He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

"Ew! Uncle Daryl and Miss Beth are kissin'!" Jeremy yelled. Apparently, he'd decided to come into the kitchen while they had been kissing and check on the status of dinner.

Daryl jerked away from her as if he'd just discovered she had some kind of plague. He bolted from the house heading out the back door, undoubtedly to the shed to tinker with something and purge himself of the embarrassment, leaving her all alone to deal with the situation, just like last time. Jeremy was giggling, clearly he'd gotten no small amount of amusement out of the ordeal. And for a minute she was mad at Daryl for bolting in such situations twice, after all he'd initiated the moment between them. Well, she did tease him a bit, but that was only after he'd said that sweet precious thing to her, and she desperately wanted to be kissed. But she couldn't be too mad at him, she knew how private he was and how much he hated showing any form of affection in front of others.

"See Miss Beth? He does think you're pretty, but kissin' is gross."

She couldn't help but smile at the child. "Well one day you won't think so. You'll find a pretty girl, and you'll want to kiss her."

"Yuck, nuh-uh!"

Beth laughed. "Come on, you want to help me cook?"

"Okay."

Beth decided to put off the tree decorating until next time, so Daryl would at least watch, at best participate. It was unlikely that he would emerge from the shed before Jeremy got picked up.

-o-oOo-o-

Sasha stopped by Beth's classroom to leave her with some flyers that were to be sent home to the parents. Karen and Amy, the floating workers, were also both in her room at the moment; it was rare for them to both be in the same room at the same time. Usually they would spread out and help whoever needed it. Mary was also there, reading to a few of the kids who were of a mind to listen to a story rather than play. It was that moment when Jeremy decided to loudly make his announcement.

"Last night Miss Beth and Uncle Daryl were kissin'! It was gross and smoochy!"

Then, and only then, did Beth begin to understand what Daryl had felt the night before. Sasha, thankfully, was very laid back and was putting a valiant effort into not laughing. Mary just looked appalled, Amy looked shocked, Karen was smirking, and the children were laughing and saying '_ewww'_! Beth felt her entire body turn a burning red, and she prayed that Daryl would never learn of this or he was like to enter the witness protection program and leave her forever. She was finally able to get the children calmed down by passing out cookies. The kids didn't forget, though. Later on in the day one of the little girls walked up to her giggling and said, "You kissed Jeremy's Uncle." Beth didn't even know what to say. They had never discussed this in any of her child care classes at school. Hopefully the kids would forget about it soon, and Beth would be able to carry on with how things had been before.

"Yeah, I did," she said to the little girl, giving a smile, not bothering to deny it. She decided the best thing to do was just play it off as no big deal, and for the most part that seemed to work pretty well. The children still giggled about it, but the topic was dropped pretty soon after.

That afternoon when Daryl came to pick Jeremy up she made herself busy on the opposite end of the classroom digging through a supply closet. She knew it wouldn't hurt Daryl's feelings if she didn't speak to him now. It wasn't as if they'd told many people they were dating. It wasn't a secret, they just hadn't been really spreading it around. People just figured it out. She had confided in Lori, Sasha, and Karen, her close work friends. Of course Rosita and Abe knew at the Diner, but that was it, really. Beth was horrified that if she got close to Daryl the kids would start up again, so she just played it nonchalant, organizing the paints on the shelf in the closet. Daryl was taking her out tonight, and she would give him her undivided attention then; he wouldn't mind being overlooked now, especially if he knew why, though she wasn't exactly intent on telling him.

Unfortunately the cookie bribery and nonchalant behavior she had attempted to quiet the kids down had failed.

"You're Jeremy's Uncle," she heard a little girl say to Daryl. He just grunted in typical Daryl manner in affirmation. "Are you gonna kiss Miss Beth again?"

Beth spun around and saw Daryl's eyes go from the girl, to herself, to Jeremy. He frowned. "We're leavin' Jeremy. Let's go."

Beth hurried towards Mary. "I'll be right back," she touched the older woman gently on the shoulder and hurried out after Daryl.

"Daryl wait," she knew he'd figured it out, that Jeremy had told, and she could see how angry he was with the child.

He turned just barely looking at her. "Don't be angry with him. He's a child. Things that embarrass us, well they just think they're funny. He didn't mean anything by it."

"You think I'm gonna hit 'im or somethin'?" he turned his frustration on her, practically yelling.

Beth's brows creased in confusion. "No, where did that come from? I would never think you'd hurt him. I just knew you were angry, and I didn't want you to be mad at him for the rest of the night. It was my fault anyways. I started it while he was there. Shoulda just waited."

Daryl shook his head and let out a breath. "Ain't yer fault. Ain't even a big deal, I guess." He let out another sigh. "I'll pick you up at seven thirty, alrigh'?"

"I'll see you then," Beth turned and walked back inside. That was so odd. Why had he brought that up? She knew he wouldn't hurt Jeremy. It just seemed so bizarre that he would think that.

That evening when he knocked on her door, she pulled him into the apartment and kissed him passionately. "I never thought you'd hurt him. I know how good you are to him and how much you love him." She laid a hand on the side of his face, combing her finger back into his hair.

"You have the bluest eyes," she said softly, and she kissed him again. She needed him to know that she didn't think ill of him.

-o-oOo-o-

On Tuesday they finally got around to decorating the little tree. Well, Jeremy and Beth did. Daryl sat and watched, not saying a word. Beth brought her little CD player and put in an old Christmas music CD while she and Jeremy decorated the tree, singing along with the words. Jeremy put all of his ornaments right together, several on the same branch, but Beth didn't bother to move them. The way children decorated was precious and heartwarming to her, and she was more than willing to sacrifice the symmetry and organization for the precious sight of a child's joyful decorating. Beth only put on a few ornaments, allowing Jeremy to do the vast majority of them. The whole process didn't take very long considering the tree was a small 3 foot one she'd had in her dorm room in college. She pulled out the silver star tree topper and held it out to the child.

"Why don't you see if Uncle Daryl wants to put the star on the top?"

Jeremy walked over and held the star out for Daryl.

"You go 'head," Daryl told the boy.

"But I want you to do it. You didn't put any ornaments on," Jeremy said, still holding out the little star. Beth couldn't help but smile at how kind hearted and loving the child was. It was her favorite thing about working with children. They could be so caring and empathetic. Especially at this age when they just started learning about how others felt. Empathy, Jeremy wanted Daryl to get to put the star on the tree, because the child saw it as a way to make his uncle happy, and as Daryl took the star from him and walked over and placed it on the tree, Beth could see a ghost of a smile on his face.

She'd ask him tonight, she decided, to spend Christmas at the Greene farm.

After Linda picked Jeremy up, Beth decided to breech the subject. "Thank you, for lettin' us put up a tree. He loved it."

"Yeah, I know."

"Um, Daryl, I was just thinking, maybe if you're not doing anything for Christmas, you might want to spend it with me at my parents' farm. I know you didn't want to at Thanksgiving, but it would mean the world to me, and I don't want you to be alone for Christmas. I need to go see my family, too."

"Didn't ask you to stay with me last time."

"I know, I did that because I wanted to, but I really want to see my family _and_ you both this time."

He didn't say anything, just set there with that knife he'd been cleaning. Beth was certain it had been clean and sharp half an hour ago, but he kept on. He was so meticulous with each of his arsenal of weapons.

"Gonna disappoint 'em. They won't like seein' ya with somebody like me."

"Daryl, that's crazy. My family will love you!"

He didn't say anything else for a minute, so she sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "We can drive down Christmas Eve and stay the night, and we'll have gifts and breakfast together the next mornin'. Maggie is bringin' her fiancé Glenn, and I think Shawn has a girlfriend. Besides, they all wanna meet you."

"Y' told 'em?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

He just shrugged as if it was illogical to him that she would tell her family they were an item.

"Daryl, I don't care what you think about yourself; I know the truth. You're a really good man, and I don't see why you keep insisting you aren't."

"I'm just a redneck asshole; yer dad's what a doctor?"

"Veterinarian, why does that matter?"

"Same difference."

"Daryl, I don't get it."

"Y'all are helluva lot higher class than me Beth. Ya can't expect them to be happy when you show up with a redneck mechanic in stained clothes with holes. That's me; it's what I got an' what I am."

"And I wouldn't have you any other way. And Mamma and Daddy ain't gonna care that you don't have a law degree from Harvard, Daryl. They aren't that kind of people. They just care if you're good to me, and you _are_. Stop worryin' about disappointing people, and just come with me and have a good time. Meet my family; it'll mean the world to me."

He nodded. "Alrigh'. Jus' didn't want to make 'em disappointed in you."

She kissed him on the cheek. "You won't. I'm so excited! Thank you Daryl!"

"Don't know what t' get people."

"You ain't gotta get nothin'. I already bought everyone's gift and put both our names on them."

He looked at her curiously. "You knew I'd go for it?"

"No, I hoped you would, but it's _us_ now, not just _me_, remember?"

-o-oOo-o-

It never ceased to amaze Beth, the gentle way he touched her. His hands were big and rough, and dirty more often than not. Callouses and permanent stains of grease and engine oil covered them in their entirety. Soft was not a word that described his hands in any manner, and yet it was that very word that came to mind to describe his touches. It was as if she was something priceless and fragile. It didn't mean he wouldn't hold her tight or kiss her passionately, but he was always careful not to be too forceful or rough with her.

Such were his ways even now as he slowly pushed her knit cardigan over her shoulders as he kissed her, his lips trailing from hers past her jaw bone and onto the column of her neck. His kisses were always so worshipful; the knowledge that he felt unworthy of her affection resonated in her mind each time he did this. It truly was his way of saying how beautiful and wonderful he thought her to be, though naturally he never put this in words, it simply wasn't the way he communicated anything emotional. He felt that he had no right to even touch her, but she allowed it, so he would shower her in this . . . this praise. It was the only word she could think of for it. She hated that he felt unworthy of her, it certainly wasn't the case, and she couldn't for the life of her discern what it was about him that made him so undeserving of her. Despite her curiosity, she'd never seen a thing about him that was loathsome. Sure he had a foul mouth, but the vast majority of men she knew did, that certainly wasn't a deal breaker for her. He wasn't wealthy or sophisticated but she'd always thought those things to be trivial. It was his heart she cared about, though she'd be lying if she said his exterior wasn't a nice bonus. He was so manly, rugged, and rough around the edges; he had that bad boy vibe, but he treated her like porcelain. It didn't seem to add up at first glance, but to Beth, it was perfect; she knew his heart.

As he pulled the cardigan off, her bracelet got hooked in the knit sleeve, and before she realized what was happening she felt her big chunky bracelet get pulled off of her arm. She quickly pulled her arm back to clutch it to her chest, covering her wrist with her other hand. Her eyes darted up to his, blue gazing into blue, and she saw it in his face. He saw it; worse, he knew what she'd done. It was in his eyes; panic welled up in her. She bit her lip and looked down, not able to hold his knowing gaze.

Cautiously so not to upset her, he reached out and pulled her wrist towards him, pushing her other hand away. His thumb ran over the scar in a soft caress, and he looked up to meet her eyes again, his features deep and his brow creased in thought.

Beth took a deep shuddering breath. "Didn't want you to see. Ain't somethin' I'm proud of doin'."

He held her gaze, and she wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to say more or trying to come up with something to say himself. After a minute when she realized he wasn't going to say anything, just softly caress her wrist with his thumb, she decided to continue.

"I was sixteen . . . my aunt died . . . my mamma's sister. She was in a car accident on the way to see one of my recitals. If it hadn't been for me, my recital, she'd still be livin', so for a long time I blamed myself. I was so close to her; it hurt so badly that she was gone and 'cause 'f me. Blamed myself for a long time, even when Daddy and Mamma tried to tell me it wasn't my fault. I just decided . . ." she took another deep calming breath. "Decided I couldn't live with the guilt of knowin' what I'd caused . . . guess I still wanted to live though. Took me a long time to get over it and accept it wasn't my fault. I was in a really dark place for a few months."

Daryl looked down for a minute but seemed to be contemplating something; Beth felt her heart skip a beat as anxiety welled up within her. Was he going to break up with her? Was he angry with her for her weakness? He was always so strong. Her head was swimming with nerves. She should have been more careful and made sure the bracelet stayed on so he wouldn't see, but no, that wasn't right either, for her to keep things from him. If this was going to work he needed to know.

Daryl seemed to have reached a decision and stood up. Beth felt herself draw in a shuddering breath as he turned away from her.

"Daryl, I . . ."

But he wasn't listening, and for a second she was confused. He didn't leave; he started pulling his shirt off. Her gazed traveled up the muscled panes of his lower back as the shirt was tugged out of the way, and she saw, she understood what he was doing. She felt herself gasp at how gruesome the sight was, not that he was any less appealing, but rather the realization of what had occurred to him for there to be such a sight was, in itself, gruesome. The lash marks covered his bare flesh from his lower back up to his shoulders, stretching out and marring the panes of muscle. For an instant she wondered who'd done that to him, but then she knew. The scars were from a good time ago, though so severe that even the fading over time did little to hide the horrors of his childhood abuse. She'd not once heard him mention his father. There was once he'd mentioned his mother in passing, saying she had died when he was young, so the option of Jeremy staying with his paternal grandmother was unattainable. The way he spoke of her harbored no ill will or distaste, and the very fact that he never mentioned his father at all resonated the truth of her conjecture even more in her mind. The thought that a father could do such a thing to his child was not something that she could or even wanted to begin to fathom.

"Oh Daryl," Beth breathed out. She stood and took a step towards him, placing her hand delicately against his back. She ran her fingers down the length of one of the lash marks. What could have done this? Her mind, unbidden, conjured up images of a rough looking man, Daryl's father, whipping a blue eyed boy with a leather belt or some kind of cord. It was horrifying to think of and her eyes welled with tears. She would not let them fall though, she couldn't. He didn't want her pity; she knew. He was ashamed of them, as much as she was ashamed of her own scar, though in her case it was her fault. She was being selfish, not realizing how much her self-harm would hurt her family, and hurt them it had. But Daryl, this abuse was of no fault of his own. This was the work of an evil and cruel monster, one heartless enough to bring pain upon his own flesh and blood in the form of a child.

She felt him flinch as she trailed her fingers down the length of the scar. He's still not met her eyes, it was such a big step for him, so much trust for him to even show her this, and though he'd not said a word to her audibility she heard his message loud and clear.

_I see you; I see your pain. You're not the only one with a troubled and dark past. It's something we share. You were afraid to show me, afraid I would hurt you, but I won't. And I know you won't hurt me either. I trust you._

Beth didn't need his words. She knew his heart. And she knew that for Daryl, it was actions and not words that meant the most. He didn't need her to say anything now. He likely didn't even want her to. Slowly she pressed her lips to one of the larger scars on his right shoulder beside a tattoo of two demons. Daryl stiffened, but didn't flinch or pull away. She trailed her lips down the scar, softly kissing, trying to convey with her lips what she felt in her heart. And before long, she lost herself in the act, intimately pressing kisses along each of the numerous lash marks on his back, and trailing her fingers over his back.

When she finished kissing the last of his scars, she rested her head against his bare shoulder.

"Beth," he breathed, his voice lower than normal as he turned to face her. He rested his hand against her cheek, and ran his thumb over her full, soft lips before bending down to claim them with his own. The kiss grew heated very quickly, and he was lowering her back onto the bed and pulling her up so her head rested against his pillow. He hovered over her, his weight resting on his knees and forearms as he kissed her. She caught his bottom lip between hers and sucked on it drawing a throaty groan from him. His hands slipped under her shirt and pushed it up and off of her.

He pulled away from kissing her to look down at her; she felt his blue eyes taking every inch of her in, clad only in a white lace bra and black leggings, and she felt herself blushing. She took her chance to look at him too, her eyes scanning down his muscular torso before following the same path with her fingers, starting at his collar bones and going down to his muscular stomach, every inch of him so hard it made her want to squirm.

"Daryl."

"You're so damn beautiful Beth." With his words Beth felt butterflies fluttering through her stomach.

"You're pretty easy on the eyes, too Daryl."

He scoffed.

"No, I mean it," she said as she trailed her fingers over his bare torso again to prove her point, "and I love your arms . . . but you probably know that as much as I touch them."

He smirked at that, "won't hear me complainin'." He slid back a bit and stared pressing warm kisses to her stomach, his lips were so addictive no matter where they fell on her. After a minute he sat up and pulled her into his lap, so she sat straddling his hips, and she was fairly certain that he was about to start kissing her neck, but she beat him to it, pressing kisses against his tanned neck and collar bones. She felt him cup her butt in both hands and hold her close as she continued kissing his neck. Then he was pulling her chin up so to kiss her lips, and she instantly missed the feeling of his hand on her butt. She was relieved when his hand went to her breast instead though, and she began to feel her control slipping and desire taking over. She moaned against his mouth and pressed herself down against his hips needing to get closer.

"Daryl," she moaned, pulling back from the kiss as his lips went to her neck.

She wanted so badly to tell him to stop, knew that she wasn't supposed to be doing this. Beth Greene is a good girl, chaste, innocent, and pure. She was having an internal battle, part of her wanting to let him take it as far as he wanted and the other part knowing she shouldn't. She believed in waiting until marriage. But it was getting so hard to tell him to stop, even though she knew he would instantly.

She felt him pull away, his hands leaving her breasts and his lips leaving her neck, and part of her was disappointed. "Daryl?"

"Shh, 's okay, ain't gonna force nothin' on you."

"But how?"

"Could feel ya gettin' tense; 's okay Beth."

But she wondered as she stood up and pulled her shirt back on, if he knew how much of an internal battle she was having. He was so good to her, even just feeling her tense up a little, he'd stopped, and she knew it hadn't been as easy for him as he tried to make it look. She'd _felt_ it, after all, just how aroused he was; he was looking at her with half hooded eyes as she straightened up her clothes and hair. He really did put her needs far above his own.

-o-oOo-o-

Beth was so excited she could barely contain it. Daryl was on his way to pick her up to drive to her parents' farm for Christmas. She had her bags packed and she was standing by the door, and when he knocked she practically ran him over, pressing a kiss to his cheek and hurrying to his truck with her bags.

"Can help ya with those."

"Don't worry about it, they aren't heavy, just lock the door for me, would you?"

Daryl did as she asked and followed after her, getting back in his truck that he'd left running and pulling out of the parking lot.

"Ya packed like we're stayin' a week," he observed.

"No, these bags are mostly full of gifts, only one is clothes and my stuff."

"That's a shitload 'f gifts."

"I love my family; I wanted to get them as much as I could. It's so fun, buying for them."

Daryl nodded but didn't say anything and they fell into a comfortable silence as he drove. Beth never used to be comfortable in quiet, always feeling like she needed to fill the air to avoid awkwardness, but with Daryl the quiet wasn't awkward. It was peaceful, not stressed. She knew he wasn't a big talker and she'd learned to love their companionable silences.

After a while Beth decided to turn on the radio, so they could listen to some Christmas music; it was amongst her favorite. She started listening to it in November every year.

"Every Christmas Eve we always gather round the piano, an' either me or Mamma plays, and we all sing Silent Night. It's one of our traditions."

Daryl just gave a small grunt signifying that he heard her. Without giving it much thought, she asked, "what about you? Did your family have any Christmas traditions?"

"Ain't never celebrated Christmas before really, sides what we did in grade school. Never got nothin' from Santa 'r sang songs if that's what ya mean."

Beth was shocked again, but why? His dad abused him. Why would she expect him to have had happy Christmas memories? For some reason she just thought that was a staple for American children, something everyone shared. But it wasn't, and it was so naïve of her to assume so.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't need ya t' be."

"Well I shouldn't have just said that; I should have known . . ."

He shook his head, cutting her off. "No, I never told ya that. You didn't have to jus' guess. Reckon if my mom had been in better shape we mighta done somethin'. Doubt there'd been any presents, but maybe she'd a made some effort fer Merle 'n' me. She was jus' . . . out 'f it. He made her life hell, too. I can't even remember a time when she wasn't spaced out. She died, cause the damn house burnt down 'round 'er when I 's a kid. She was smokin'."

"I'm so sorry Daryl."

"Ain't yer fault."

-o-oOo-o-

When they finally arrived it was already dark out. Daryl parked his truck next to Shawn's and Beth hopped out of the truck. Everyone was gradually coming out of the house onto the porch to greet them, and Beth hurried to hug her parents.

"Mamma, Daddy, I've missed you!"

"And we've missed you Bethy," Hershel said as he hugged his daughter after his wife did. Maggie reached and squeezed her hand and Shawn teasingly reached over and messed her hair up, earning a smack on the arm. Glenn and their dear friends Otis and Patricia were there too, smiling at her and Daryl as he walked up behind her. Shawn's girlfriend stood a bit behind him and Beth made a mental note to greet her, but first she wanted to introduce Daryl.

"Daddy, Mamma, everyone, this is Daryl. We've been seeing each other for about a month and a half. He's a mechanic back in Smithville." Mamma and Daddy and Maggie already knew all of that, but the others didn't.

"Hello Daryl, welcome. We're glad you're here," Hershel said.

"Yes we have been so looking forward to meeting you!" Annette added.

Daryl nodded once in acknowledgement, and Beth wound her fingers through his, not that he was in need of comfort, but she just wanted to be there with him. This wasn't his thing.

"I'm Shawn," Shawn added, "me an' Beth are half siblings. Hershel's my step dad. This is Staci, my girlfriend. And I'm sure Beth's told you a lot about Maggie," Shawn gestured at his step sister.

Maggie didn't waste any time, she hugged Daryl who just stiffened at the contact, thankfully it was just a quick friendly hug, so he didn't have to feel weird long. "I'm so excited you're here. Beth talks about you constantly. She has for months, every Saturday it's Daryl, Daryl, Daryl. Even when she was with that asshole Spencer." Beth felt her cheeks warm, but she saw Daryl smirk a little bit.

"Maggie," Annette said.

"Well he is one, Annette," Maggie said matter-of-factly. "Anyways, me and Beth are half-sisters. She and I are both Hershel's daughters, and she and Shawn are both Annette's kids, so we are a family of half and step siblings," Maggie smiled. "This is Glenn, my fiancé. He delivers pizzas in Atlanta."

Glenn waved awkwardly, and Daryl nodded again.

Maggie continued her introductions. "This is Patricia and Otis. They are Annette and Daddy's best friends."

Daryl nodded to the final two people to whom he was introduced and Annette announced that they should go inside out of the cold, and she would check on dinner. Beth offered to help, but was relieved when Annette told her she should be visiting instead, since she doesn't get to see the family much, and she shouldn't be leaving Daryl all alone with strangers. That wasn't fair to him.

"Thank you Mamma," Beth hugged her. "I've missed you so much."

"Me too Bethy. Don't worry. Staci is going to help me; she's over here all the time. She and Shawn have been together just a little longer than you and Daryl, and we really like her. I think you will, too. And Daryl seems nice, so quiet, but nice, just like you said. He's so handsome too. You got your good tastes from me," Annette smirked.

Beth just laughed, "Oh, Mamma, you say no such thing to him, you'll embarrass him!"

-o-oOo-o-

"Daryl would you like more to eat? We have plenty: turkey, dressing, tater salad. You can have more of anything you want," Annette offered as she buzzed around the table refilling people's drinks and passing dishes despite everyone protesting that they could get it themselves, and she could just sit down and eat.

"No, ma'am. I had plenty." Daryl said quietly.

Annette was absolutely fawning over Daryl, as she always seemed to do with those spending Christmas at the Greene household for the first time. Staci seemed to be exempt since she was around all the time.

"Annette, leave the man be," her daddy gently scolded. "You're gonna run him off, worrying him like that," Hershel laughed softly gesturing for his wife to sit back down.

"Hershel, I just wanna make sure he gets taken care of and show him how glad we are he's here," she replied as she found her seat and took the casserole Shawn was passing her.

"Eat Mamma, I'm sure Daryl's fine," Shawn said, before turning to look at the new comer.

"So, mechanic? I know enough t' get by, fixin' tractors and all. How d' ya like it?"

"It's good. I like fixin' things. 'S all I've ever done really. I don't really know much 'bout anythin' else sides huntin'."

"What kind 'f huntin'?" Maggie asked. Both of Beth's siblings loved hunting, though she knew they weren't remotely as good as Daryl. Maggie had been out of practice, too with her extent of time in the big city with Glenn. Beth had to admit they knew more than she did, though. Living in Savannah and going to college for the past four years, she'd not been hunting too much. She was thankful everyone was so welcoming to Daryl, of course she knew they would be, but it was still quite heartwarming.

"All kinds, reckon bow huntin' 's my favorite."

"He got a fourteen point buck with his crossbow earlier this season," Beth chimed in.

"Damn," Shawn said.

"Shawn Isaac, really? It's Christmas Eve dinner. You asked the blessing with that mouth, now keep it clean."

Daryl was giving Beth a look somewhere between shock and awe, and Beth realized that he hadn't even thought she'd noticed his accomplishment.

"What?" she asked innocently in a whisper that only Daryl could hear. "It was really impressive."

Daryl smirked at her, and she could see just how much good it'd done his ego for her to take notice of his accomplishments. It wasn't like he was petty and needed her constant praise, but rather, it had been a pleasant reassuring surprise to him, showing just how much she cared and thought highly of him. Thankfully no one else took notice of their whispered conversation due to the fallout between Shawn and Annette concerning Shawn's cursing at the dinner table.

Beth reached below the table and found table and found Daryl's hand next to her, weaving their fingers together again.

After dinner they all gathered around the piano as Hershel read the Christmas story from the Bible. Then everyone urged Beth to be the one to play as they sang Silent Night. Beth could see Daryl leaning against the wall from where she sat singing and playing. He didn't sing, but he watched her with such intensity. She knew he loved to hear her sing and play even if it was a rare occurrence for him to admit it, and she could just tell that he was liking this thing called Christmas, especially when spent with a loving family who cares.

-o-oOo-o-

The farm house was thankfully very large with plenty of rooms for everyone. Each of the Greene siblings were able to sleep in their own room, and with two guest bedrooms Glenn and Daryl were both able to have their own room. Mamma and Daddy would not have been okay with them sleeping in the same rooms as Maggie and Beth respectively, so it worked out, keeping anyone from having to sleep on the couch. Staci and Otis and Patricia both arrived early the next morning, and Beth found Daryl walking around outside when she'd finished getting ready for the day.

"Hey! Whatcha doin?"

"Jus' walkin' 'round. Yer folks got a nice chunk of land."

"I love it here. It's so open and peaceful. You wanna meet my horse, Nelly?"

"Alrigh'"

After introducing Daryl to Nelly, Beth led the way back to the farmhouse. "We gotta get back, or they'll be waiting on us." Before they went back inside, Beth stepped close to Daryl and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. "I hope your first real Christmas is perfect Daryl. I'm so glad to be the one you're spending it with."

He ran his hand slowly over the side of her face and into her hair, trailing down to the ends, and playing with the strands between his fingers. "Me, too."

Watching Daryl open presents was amongst the most precious things Beth had ever seen, and she knew no one but her thought a thing about it, but she knew him, knew his mannerisms. Each time he received a gift he would look genuinely surprised, and he was, that someone would get him something. He would rip the paper to shreds and usually the box, too, and then mumble a 'thank ya' to whomever had given him the gift. Mamma and Daddy had gotten him a new pair of boots, after Beth told them that his were pretty worn out when they asked what to get him. Shawn and Staci had a gift card to Bass Pro shop for him, Maggie and Glenn gave him a set of screw drivers, and Otis and Patricia gave him a nice pair of work gloves. Beth was most excited to see him open her own gift though. It was a really big, mean looking hunting knife, and she made sure to get one he loved. She'd looked at some of his most cherished knives while he was out of the room at one point a little while back and memorized the brand name that the majority of them were. Then, she went online and found one similar to the ones he already had. Once she'd teased him about having too many knives, and he'd only smirked and said 'no such problem' so she knew he'd love it even if he had others. She was going to wait until they got back home to Smithville to give it to him though.

After Christmas gifts and breakfast, they spent a little more time at the farm, and then decided they needed to get back to Smithville, both having to work the next day.

-o-oOo-o-

Beth fell asleep on the way home, but she was jostled awake when Daryl slowed to exit Interstate 85. She yawned. "Oh, I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"'S okay. You looked peaceful."

"I was. You're a good driver."

"Ain't far out now."

Beth scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming, and driving, and everything. It meant the world."

"Ain't nothin'. I wanted t' do it for ya. Your family's nice folks."

"Yes, they are. Shawn's rotten, and Maggie's bossy, but they are all pretty great."

"Yeah, take it from someone who knows shitty families, you got a good one."

When they pulled in to her apartment complex she asked him to stay for a few minutes. "I've got somethin' for you." Daryl sat down and waited for her to retrieve the wrapped package. When she brought it back he tore into it and smirked.

"Damn, that's one hell of a knife. Told ya there ain't no such thing as too many."

She sat down on the couch next to him. "So, you like it?"

"Yeah, 's really nice Beth. Ya didn't hafta get me nothin'."

"Well I wanted to," she rested her head against his shoulder and hooked her arms around his for a second, and then he started shifting around for something in his pocket. She watched for a minute as he pulled out a little jewelry box, and handed it to her.

"Seen this and couldn't stop thinkin' 'bout you."

She flipped the little box open and inside was a necklace with a heart shaped pendant and a blue gem. Beth felt herself pull in a breath.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, and looked up to see that same intense gaze he gave her more and more often now.

"Same color as yer eyes."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, a nice long chapter with some sweet stuff, and some sad, stuff, but mostly sweet. I hope y'all liked it! We are looking at just a few more chapters at this point. Staci is an OC I made up; I racked my brain for young single female characters from TWD, and for one reason or another, I couldn't come up with any that suited my fancy for Shawn. I did consider Michonne and Lily. I can't stand Andrea, so I didn't consider her. The problem with Michonne was that I have plans for her in my ZA alternate ending to this fic, and I really didn't want to mix things up too bad where the plots in the two fics have large discrepancies. Besides, I have difficulty seeing Michonne with anyone besides Rick. I ship them, just not remotely as much as Bethyl. Lily, I did consider more seriously, but I just couldn't stop associating her with the governor and I don't know, I just wasn't really a fan of bringing her in like this. I did like her character in the show though. Obviously Tara isn't into guys so that wouldn't work either, so I just threw up my hands and invented Staci. Hopefully that's okay. She won't be a major character at all, I just wanted Shawn to have a date. If you think I should have used a certain character as Shawn's date feel free to let me know your opinion. I'd love to hear it. I've never been to the Atlanta zoo, so I totally made that up and tried to be vague about the layout. If you have been to the Atlanta Zoo, and they don't have meerkats or something, please forgive me. **

**On a fun note: does anyone else just like absolutely love Taylor Swift's "Blank Space"? I know it's been going for a while now, but I honestly can't get enough of it, the video the song the lyrics, whatever. I'm a fan. I love dancing to it, singing along. You have to act it out so dramatically like she does in the video. My husband is absolutely sick of it at this point, haha. **

**Okay enough rambling. Please let me know what you think of this chapter!**

**Thanks,**

**3 engineergirl86**


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